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Business
Luxury brands booming
Louis Vuitton, Gucci stingy in social contribution Sales of foreign luxury brands in Korea tripled in the last five years thanks to local consumers’ constant fever for Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada, an online information provider said Wednesday. According to Chaebul.com, combined sales of top 10 foreign luxury brands reached…
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Business
Foreigners rush to sell buildings
An increasing number of foreign landlords of office buildings in Seoul are selling their properties amid a prolonged slowdown in the market. According to market sources, during the first half of the year no foreign investors signed contracts to buy office buildings or mega-sized commercial buildings with total floor areas…
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Business
Casinos return to limelight
Gov’t mulls easing rules to bolster economy Speaking of the positive sides to casinos has been a taboo subject in presidential meetings over the past four years. Though it was obvious that gambling business will help lure foreign investors and travelers, President Lee Myung-bak, a devoted Christian, had been opposed…
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Business
Economics of hot weather
Scorching summer benefits some firms, burns others Koreans are experiencing one of the hottest summers in history with the mercury rising above 35 degrees Celsius. Workers have suffered through a hot and sticky purgatory in recent weeks, putting their work ethics and social tolerance to the ultimate test. It hasn’t…
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Business
Dokdo blow-up has Korean, Japanese firms lying low
President Lee Myung-bak’s surprise visit to Dokdo, a tiny Korean island which Japan argues it has historical claim to, has driven a wedge between the two regional neighbors both in diplomatic relations and public opinion. This has Korean and Japanese companies operating cross-borders trying hard to be invisible. Responding the…
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Business
Yeosu Expo comes to end after three months of mediocrity
No fanfare Yeosu Expo ended its 93-day run Sunday after highlighting exhibits that stressed the eco-friendly use of oceans and coastal areas. However, visitors were left wishing that organizers had managed to get the message across in a more creative and entertaining way as the majority view seems to be…
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Business
Scorching purgatory
Workers take refuge in malls, theaters; complaints grow over energy-saving drive Koreans are withering under what could prove to be the hottest summer on record. But with government officials tightly controlling the use of air conditioners in public buildings and ruthlessly pushing its energy-saving campaign to private employers over growing…
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Hanwha close to buying German solar cell firm
Hanwha Group is favored to take over Germany’s troubled Q-Cells, an established name in the solar energy field, according to company officials as they believe they have the strongest bid. The group’s affiliate Hanwha Chemical is in the final stage of negotiations to absorb Q-Cells. The German company, once the…
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Business
New dictator, new businesses?
North Korea-related stocks continue rally amid overall market volatility Stock prices of companies that conduct business in North Korea are rallying amid growing signs that the Stalinist nation is embracing economic reform and anticipation that the severed economic relationship between the two Koreas will be revived. The share prices of…
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Business
IBM Korea under probe for software bid rigging
Anti-trust regulators here are investigating the Korean unit of global technology firm, IBM, over suspicions of bid rigging, an industry source said Monday. IBM Korea colluded with resellers to manipulate bid prices to steer a lucrative contract to one of its partners in a Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp. (SMRTC)…
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