BARCELONA — Samsung Electronics Co. has officially unveiled its new Galaxy Ring, a smart device focused on digital healthcare, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. The device, which marks its first public appearance, was presented in three colors and nine sizes at Samsung's booth on the first day of the event, which is being held at Fira Gran Via.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Galaxy Ring is designed for comfort during sleep and features an inner surface that contours to the user's finger for precise health data measurement. However, the company stated that it would not release specific details about the device's specifications until its official launch. The presentation of the wearable device in transparent boxes restricted visitors from having a hands-on experience.
The announcement of the Galaxy Ring follows a teaser from Samsung Electronics about the new device during the Galaxy S24 Unpacked event in California last month. The Galaxy Ring is expected to be available for purchase later in 2024, expanding Samsung's portfolio of digital health-focused wearable technologies.
SEOUL — South Korean stocks ended lower on Monday, with the market reacting negatively to the government's plans aimed at enhancing corporate value, which fell short of investors' expectations.According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 20.62 points, or 0.77 percent, to finish at 2,647.08, halting a two-day streak of gains.
The trading session saw a heavy volume of 519.6 million shares, valued at approximately 10.8 trillion won (US$8.1 billion), with the number of stocks declining significantly outnumbering those advancing, at 657 to 231. Institutional and individual investors led the selling, offloading a net 86.4 billion won and 47.5 billion won worth of shares, respectively. This sell-off was partially offset by foreign investors, who made net purchases totaling 114.1 billion won.
"The KOSPI extended its downside mode as investors were disappointed with the government's 'value-up' program," stated Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities Co. The government's announcement earlier in the day outlined broad guidelines intended to incentivize companies to enhance their value, including various tax incentives, but was criticized for lacking detail.
The market's downturn affected a broad range of sectors. Financial stocks, particularly those perceived as underperformers or having low price-to-book ratio (PBR) values, faced significant losses. Hana Financial Group and KB Financial Group saw their share prices tumble by 5.94 percent and 5.02 percent, respectively. Similarly, Hanwha Life Insurance and Hyundai Fire & Marine Insurance experienced sharp declines, with their stocks dropping by 9.6 percent and 7.07 percent, respectively.
Retailers also suffered, with Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae recording losses of 5 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. In the automotive sector, Hyundai Motor's shares fell by 2.05 percent, while Kia's shares decreased by 3.21 percent.
The Korean won also weakened against the U.S. dollar, closing at 1,331.1 won, a slight decrease of 0.1 won from the previous session's close.
SEOUL — South Korea's technology exports surged to a record $15.2 billion in 2022, marking a 2 percent increase driven by heightened demand from the United States.According to Yonhap News Agency, The data also revealed a 5 percent rise in technology imports, reaching $19.6 billion, which led to a 17.1 percent expansion of the tech trade deficit to $4.4 billion. The country saw a notable 40 percent increase in exports to the U.S., amounting to $4.5 billion, fueled by the electronics and gaming sectors.
Conversely, exports to China declined by 17.7 percent to $2.6 billion, attributed to reduced demand for gaming technology, while imports from China, mainly in semiconductor technology, jumped 77.6 percent to $1.8 billion. The Ministry of Science and ICT highlighted the tenfold increase in the value of South Korea's technology trade over the past two decades and a more than threefold improvement in the export-to-import ratio, underscoring the growing competitiveness of the country's science and technology sectors.