Yes, it’s K-beauty: Buying interest for makeup brands runs high even before they're up for sale

Yes, it’s K-beauty: Buying interest for makeup brands runs high even before they're up for sale

In South Korea’s M&A landscape, beauty companies are no longer waiting to go to market. They’re being courted before they even consi...

Hanwha-owned burger chain Five Guys Korea up for sale two years after launch

Hanwha-owned burger chain Five Guys Korea up for sale two years after launch

South Korea’s Hanwha Group is seeking to sell the Korean operations of US premium burger chain Five Guys, two years after the brand’s hi...

Deal graveyard: S.Korean F&B franchise sales left without takers

Deal graveyard: S.Korean F&B franchise sales left without takers

Korean food is making waves globally, but back home, the story is different for food and beverage franchise operators. Franchisors in South Korea ar...

Hyundai premieres IONIQ 6 N: Latest motorsport DNA for electric age

Hyundai premieres IONIQ 6 N: Latest motorsport DNA for electric age

In a dramatic showing on the famed hill climb of West Sussex, Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday debuted the IONIQ 6 N, its second high-performance elect...

Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman courts Korean AI startups as Riyadh, Abu Dhabi vie to build tech hubs

Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman courts Korean AI startups as Riyadh, Abu Dhabi vie to build tech hubs

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the Middle East was a land of opportunity for many South Korean construction workers, who labored there under the scorc...

SK Innovation to restore Vietnam’s mangrove forests in ESG initiative

SK Innovation to restore Vietnam’s mangrove forests in ESG initiative

SK Innovation Co. has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Tra Vinh, a province in southern Vietnam and MangLub, a local soci...

JKL Partners to acquire $150 mn cult-favorite bagel chain London Bagel

JKL Partners to acquire $150 mn cult-favorite bagel chain London Bagel

JKL Partners Inc., a Seoul-based private equity firm, is set to acquire London Bagel Museum, a growing sensation in South Korea’s booming prem...

Hana Asset launches ultra-low-fee Nasdaq 100 ETF

Hana Asset launches ultra-low-fee Nasdaq 100 ETF

Hana Asset Management Co. will list the “1Q US Nasdaq 100 ETF” on Tuesday, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Nasdaq 100 index with...

Even barcodes copied: Counterfeits invasion threatens K-brands

Even barcodes copied: Counterfeits invasion threatens K-brands

Counterfeit Korean beauty, fashion and food products are surging on overseas e-commerce platforms, with lookalike packaging making them hard to dist...

Amazon, Alibaba, TikTok up ante to woo Korean beauty brands

Amazon, Alibaba, TikTok up ante to woo Korean beauty brands

Riding the wave of global enthusiasm for K-Beauty, e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon and Alibaba are racing to bring South Korean cosmetics and bea...

South Korean eyewear poised to spark next global K-wave

South Korean eyewear poised to spark next global K-wave

As eyewear evolves into a key fashion statement, South Korea’s homegrown brands are setting their sights on the global stage with bold, unconv...

Genesis targets broader European presence with EV trio

Genesis targets broader European presence with EV trio

Genesis, Hyundai Motor Co.'s premium brand, is expanding its European footprint to four additional countries –France, Spain, Italy and the Net...

CJ Foodville goes global from in-flight meals to Starbucks bread

CJ Foodville goes global from in-flight meals to Starbucks bread

CJ Foodville Co., a South Korean food company, is deepening its presence in Southeast Asia with premium bakery products, catering to airplane passen...

Goodai Global poised to build L'Oréal-style empire via M&As

Goodai Global poised to build L'Oréal-style empire via M&As

Goodai Global Inc. is seeking to acquire South Korea’s first-generation independent cosmetics brand Skinfood for about 150 billion won ($108 m...

LG Energy, Samsung SDI to build 1st US LFP battery plants with GM

LG Energy, Samsung SDI to build 1st US LFP battery plants with GM

In a pivotal shift for the North American electric vehicle battery landscape, South Korea’s two leading battery makers – LG Energy Solut...

Europe looms large as K-beauty brands look to blue ocean; shares rise

Europe looms large as K-beauty brands look to blue ocean; shares rise

South Korea’s beauty industry has been reaping decent gains from traditionally strong markets such as China and the US – the world&rsquo...

Harman acquires Masimo’s audio arm in Samsung’s car audio push

Harman acquires Masimo’s audio arm in Samsung’s car audio push

Harman International Industries Inc., wholly owned by Samsung Electronics Co., has acquired Masimo Corp.’s audio business for $350 million, a ...

Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

As Korean beauty products continue to captivate global consumers, five Seoul-based cosmetics and wellness companies are gearing up to penetrate deep...

Packaging rides K-beauty wave: Shares of cosmetics container makers soar

Packaging rides K-beauty wave: Shares of cosmetics container makers soar

As South Korea’s independent beauty brands continue to take the global stage by storm, investors are now looking beyond the creams and serums ...

Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel: Winners in S.Korea’s luxury market

Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel: Winners in S.Korea’s luxury market

South Korea’s luxury goods market is becoming increasingly polarized, with ultra-high-end brands such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Chan...

KFC’s Korean operations up for sale

KFC’s Korean operations up for sale

Orchestra Private Equity has begun the process of divesting the South Korean operations of fast-food chain KFC, which has seen earnings growth since...

Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Until recently, it was not unusual to see people waiting in a long line in front of foreign haute couture brands’ stores early in the morning ...

SK Hynix aims to lock in all 2026 HBM orders by mid-2025

SK Hynix aims to lock in all 2026 HBM orders by mid-2025

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s largest supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), aims to lock in orders for its entire 2026 HBM output by the end o...

South Korea’s forex reserves dip to nearly 5-year low in February

South Korea’s forex reserves dip to nearly 5-year low in February

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves diminished to the lowest level in nearly five years last month, largely due to the expanded forex swap...

Mirae Asset launches world’s 1st passive target-date ETF

Mirae Asset launches world’s 1st passive target-date ETF

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is set to introduce the world’s first passive target-date exchange-traded fund (ETF) this month to attract ...

SK Innovation E&S to secure 10 mn tons of LNG to compete with BP, Shell

SK Innovation E&S to secure 10 mn tons of LNG to compete with BP, Shell

SK Innovation E&S (SKI E&S), the natural gas business unit of South Korea’s SK Innovation Co., is set to begin an LNG trading business...

J-R AMC, BlueCove bid on $70 million sale of Mirae Asset, NPS’ Shilla Stay

J-R AMC, BlueCove bid on $70 million sale of Mirae Asset, NPS’ Shilla Stay

The sale of Shilla Stay Dongtan, a premium business hotel operated by South Korea’s Hotel Shilla Co., has attracted four bidders, underscoring...

LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s top appliance maker, has rebranded its 10-year-old premium built-in kitchen appliance business to double do...

Funding to Korean tech startups at 7-year low; seed funding soars

Funding to Korean tech startups at 7-year low; seed funding soars

New funding to South Korean tech startups dropped to its lowest level in seven years in 2024. But seed funding soared 142% led by semiconductor, hea...

Korean sportswear brand Fila thrives in China, boding well for 2025 profit

Korean sportswear brand Fila thrives in China, boding well for 2025 profit

South Korean sportswear brand Fila Holdings Corp. posted a loss in the fourth quarter of last year, hit by the downturn in the apparel industry and ...

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