STX Group, a Korean shipbuilding and trading conglomerate, raked in $3.8 billion in the first half of this year from overseas deals for constructing 70 liquefied natural gas carriers and container carriers alone. With a 30 percent on-year growth in sales, the group has steadily won bids from the world’s major three shipbuilding markets ― Korea, China and Europe ― amid the unfavorable business climate in the wake of the European debt crisis.The group’s Chinese operation, STX Dalian, kicked off th

STX Group announced on Wednesday that it had formed a business partnership with Nonghyup Feed Co. in Portland, Oregon, to import U.S. corn for about one year starting November 2012. The partnership contract states that STX will be responsible for shipping about 700,000 tons of U.S. corn to Korea for livestock feed. The corn will be processed and distributed by Nonghyup Feed, which holds about an 18 percent share of the livestock feed market here. Among rising concerns regarding agflation ― a com

STX Group, the nation’s 14th-largest business group, said Thursday that it is considering selling assets to revive its worsening financial health amid the ongoing slowdown in the shipbuilding industry globally. “As part of our financial restructuring, we are discussing plans to directly list STX Energy and STX Heavy Industries or to sell off assets through the establishment of financial restructuring covenants with the Korea Development Bank,” the company said in response to an inquiry from the

Five more companies rated at bottom on shared-growth indexSeven big enterprises paid relatively little attention to “shared growth” with subcontractors, according an index released on Thursday by the presidential panel on shared growth.They were Dongbu Corp., Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Homeplus, Hyosung, LG Uplus Corp. and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, according to the Commission of Shared Growth for Large and Small Companies.In the commission’s first unveiling

The Nuclear Security Summit which opens Monday is providing prime business opportunities to Korean conglomerates as foreign leaders are scheduled to attend various investment forums and visit companies this week. About 100 Korean business chiefs are meeting with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in downtown Seoul on Monday for a luncheon event to seek the expansion of economic ties between the two nations.The event, organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be attended by KC

Korean Air on Thursday named Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho’s daughter and son as board directors in an apparent step to solidify their path to eventual succession. The airliner’s board of directors approved senior vice presidents Heather Cho and Walter Cho as board directors, raising the number of internal board directors to six.Korean Air also named two more outside directors Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu and Woongjin Group vice chairman Lee Joo-seok, raising the number of outs

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Thursday that it will dispatch a business delegation to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to align with President Lee Myung bak’s visit to the three countries starting Friday.The economic delegation, which will go on an eight-day business trip, will seek out cooperation possibilities in the fields of resources, construction, engineering, atomic power and new renewable energy with its Saudi Arabian counterpart.The delegation will be made up of about 30

Only 22 of 78 companies posted net profits last yearA slew of Korea’s largest conglomerates rushed into natural resource development abroad over the past four years with government support, but seven out of 10 lost money.Seventy-eight companies under the nation’s top 30 private business groups in asset value were involved in overseas resource development as of last September, according to Chaebul.com. Only 22 of them, or 28.2 percent, however, reaped net profits. Kim Young-hwan, chief of the par

STX Energy plans to establish a power plant complex in the country’s east to reinforce its renewable energy business and related equipment manufacturing. The Korean energy provider said it struck an agreement with the government of Samcheok, Gangwon Province, for the project estimated at 8 trillion won ($6.9 billion). Under the deal, STX will build power generators focusing on renewable resources and marine bioenergy. It also plans to install production lines for related equipment. The company a

Business leaders pledge to turn crisis into opportunityChiefs of major conglomerates laid out their New Year’s goals and plans for their businesses on the first day of work this year.Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee said the country’s biggest conglomerate should think outside the box and place more emphasis on new projects, new products and new technologies in his New Year’s message on Monday.Lee said the group’s competitiveness not only comes from its people and technologies but also from soc

Business leaders pledge to turn crisis into opportunityChiefs of major conglomerates laid out their New Year’s goals and plans for their businesses on the first day of work this year.Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee said the country’s biggest conglomerate should think outside the box and place more emphasis on new projects, new products and new technologies in his New Year’s message on Monday.Lee said the group’s competitiveness not only comes from its people and technologies but also from soc

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said on Thursday it slapped the three chaebol Woongjin, Hanwha and STX with fines totaling more than 6 billion won for concentrating orders to affiliate companies.A fine of 3.43 billion won ($2.97 million) was imposed on Woongjin, 1.48 billion won on Hanwha and 1.13 billion on STX for giving out orders to subsidiaries with low earnings, the Fair Trade Commission said. Woongjin’s five major affiliates Woongjin Think Big, Woongjin Coway, Woongjin Chemical, Kukdong E

STX Group chairman Kang Duk-soo vowed to focus on profits and stable growth to keep the conglomerate afloat amid a somber outlook for the global economy, company officials said Tuesday.Kang, who built the nation’s 12th-largest business group in terms of asset value through aggressive mergers and acquisitions of shipbuilding, shipping and heavy industries companies, announced last month that STX will not push for any large M&As after dropping its bid to buy Hynix Semiconductor. STX affiliates rec

Lee promotes ‘kinder capitalism’ that seeks shared growth between large and small companiesLarge conglomerates such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai have been the key driving forces and big brothers of the Korean economy for decades, shepherding in thousands of smaller suppliers.But with the conglomerates’ dominance having risen to an extent that many suppliers are bullied to cough up the lowest possible prices and put up with irregular trading practices, calls for greater social responsibility among

Hynix Semiconductor Inc. shareholders on Friday named SK Telecom Co. as the preferred bidder, a day after the mobile carrier submitted a final bid for a controlling stake in the chipmaker.The stake in Hynix on the block is estimated at around 3 trillion won ($2.64 billion).Hynix shareholders had extended the bidding deadline twice to attract more bidders with STX Group pulling out of the race that resulted in a solo bid by SK Telecom. The stake sale contract will be signed on Nov. 14 after Hynix