LG Display in Poland talks
LG Display Co, the world’s second-largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, said it is in talks with TPV Technology Ltd (冠捷) to form a venture in Poland to manufacture LCD modules and televisions.
The venture will help reduce production costs by making TV parts and sets in one factory, Claire Ohm, a Seoul-based spokeswoman for LG Display, said in a telephone interview yesterday. LG has similar operations in China with TPV and AmTran Technology Co (瑞軒科技).
The company is yet to decide on investments and when to begin production, Ohm said. Newspim, a Korean-language online news provider, reported LG Display’s plan earlier yesterday.
FSC reveals commitee plans
Local listed firms are mandated to set up an independent committee to oversee board members’ remuneration packages by Sept. 30, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement yesterday.
The committee’s job is to outline policies governing the salary structure of board members, board supervisors as well as key management executives, before submitting them to the board, the statement read.
If the board doesn’t accept the suggestions from the committee, the proposal must be formally killed in a board meeting where more than two-thirds of members are present, and more than half of those present veto the plan, it said.
Asian currencies advance
Asian currencies advanced yesterday, led by South Korea’s won and Indonesia’s rupiah, as economists forecast that data this week will show regional economies strengthened.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index rose, snapping a two-day slide, as India’s government predicted yesterday the economy will expand 8.6 percent in the 12 months through March, the most in three years.
The rupiah gained for a fifth day as statistics bureau data showed Indonesia’s economy grew at the fastest annual pace in six years last quarter. China will report on Friday that export growth accelerated last month, according to economists in a Bloomberg survey.
South Korea’s won gained 0.9 percent from Feb. 1, the last onshore trading day before the Lunar New Year holiday, to 1,107.50 per dollar as of 3pm in Seoul. The rupiah strengthened 0.3 percent to 8,968 and India’s rupee rose 0.2 percent to 45.52, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Philippine peso appreciated 0.3 percent to 43.632, according to Tullett Prebon PLC.
The Thai baht added 0.3 percent to 30.73 per dollar from yesterday, while the Singapore dollar lost 0.1 percent to S$1.2752 from Wednesday. Malaysia’s ringgit was little changed at 3.0383.
Seoul probes Deutsche Bank
South Korean financial authorities are investigating whether two Deutsche Bank AG units caused a stock market plunge in November last year through market manipulation or unfair transactions, the South Korean Financial Services Commission said yesterday.
Commission spokesman Ernst Lee said authorities are investigating the bank’s Hong Kong unit as well as its securities unit in South Korea, but have not decided when they will issue a ruling.
Commission vice chairman Kwon Hyouk-se said last month the commission would announce the results of the investigation by next month at the latest.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
Authorities have been probing Deutsche Bank’s involvement in an incident in which Seoul’s benchmark KOSPI fell 48 points in the last 10 minutes of trading, due to arbitrage trading between the spot and futures markets.
During the final 10 minutes of trade on Nov. 11, an options expiry day, 2.4 trillion won (US$2.16 billion) in sell orders from foreign investors were processed.
The bulk of these were processed through Deutsche’s local securities unit.
The watchdog Financial Supervisory Service sent a team of officials to Deutsche’s Hong Kong unit in December as part of the probe.
Local authorities last month announced new rules designed to reduce the risk of sharp stock market volatility triggered by derivatives trading. Seoul has grown increasingly concerned at potential risks posed by rapid foreign capital flows.
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