The operating profits of the four major domestic groups -- Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG -- last year showed a decrease of over 65 percent compared to 2022.The Korea CXO Research Institute, specializing in corporate analysis, released a report containing the findings on April 24.Specifically, t
At one point, 8 out of 10 Chinese smartphones used Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) panels from Korean companies. Now, that number has plummeted to less than 2 out of 10, indicating a dramatic drop in the market share of Korean companies as China encourages the use of domestically produced compon
According to sources in the petrochemical industry on April 22, Lotte Chemical, the second-largest petrochemical company in South Korea, is seriously considering halting operations at its Yeosu Plant 2, which produces PET, a raw material for plastics. It is anticipated within the industry that the c
Both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the two leading semiconductor giants in South Korea, closed lower. The decline was influenced by a simultaneous sharp drop in semiconductor stock prices, with Nvidia falling by 10 percent in the U.S. market.In the KOSPI market on April 22, Samsung Electronics c
With the ongoing competition in the AI semiconductor sector, the foundry (contract chip manufacturing) industry is facing a new challenge due to stagnant demand and overcapacity. Concurrently, the rivalry for dominance in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) segment, a crucial component in AI, is intensi
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at ldh@sinhan.com -- Ed.1Q24 review: OP of engines surpasses construction equipmentHD Hyundai Infracore posted sales of KRW1.16tr (-10% YoY), operating profit of KRW92.8bn (-39% YoY), and operating margin of 8% (-3.8%p YoY) for 1Q24.
Interest in the Chinese e-commerce platform that surged in the Korean market with its low-price strategy appears to be waning. The average usage time for the AliExpress app (combining Android and iOS) has plummeted to levels last seen three years ago, and the transaction volume is also at a meager l
The exchange rate between the Korean won and the U.S. dollar has surged by more than 7 percent this year, surpassing the magnitude of the increase during the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2009.On April 19, the won-U.S. dollar exchange rate concluded trading at 1,382.2 won in the foreign excha
Among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the South Korean won was revealed to be the fifth most undervalued, while among the Group of Twenty (G20) nations, it ranked as the fourth most undervalued.According to the Bank for International Settleme
After years of double-digit growth, the global electric vehicle market is entering a chasm, considered to be a slowdown in demand just before mass adoption. Global automakers that have been aggressively investing to expand their electric vehicle lineups are scrambling for survival by making use of a
It has been revealed that the market capitalization of the domestic stock market surged by nearly 100 trillion won in the first quarter of this year.According to the corporate analysis firm Korea CXO Research Institute on April 16, the total market capitalization of 2,692 stocks, excluding preferred
Amid the surge in the Korean won against the U.S. dollar, reaching close to 1,400 won, dividends from listed companies, often heavily held by foreign investors, are continuing to flow. During this period, foreign investors are set to receive dividends totaling over 6 trillion won. If foreign investo
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) escalated tensions in February by adding an additional six Chinese companies to its blacklist, following the earlier inclusion of eight companies. With these new additions, the Biden administration has now blacklisted a total of
As the global semiconductor hegemony intensifies, companies are fiercely competing in investments. Samsung Electronics is expected to announce additional investments locally, following substantial subsidies received by competitors Intel and Taiwan’s TSMC from the U.S. government.Compared to this, do
After enduring difficulties in the first quarter, major Korean entertainment companies have been aggressively marketing themselves. They are also changing their consumer bases, shifting from a profit structure that relies on core fans to target light fans, those who consume music lightly.According t
The combined market share of the top three Korean battery makers is on a steady decline.SNE Research announced on April 8 that the total battery usage of electric vehicles registered in the world was about 92.4 GWh, up 27.0 percent year on year in January and February.The share of the top three Kore
During his visit to the United States, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with China’s “second-in-command,” Premier Li Qiang, raising concerns once again over China’s issue of overproduction. Premier Li responded by stating that the low-cost production of solar panels and electric vehicles, which t
While global ship orders in 2024 fell from 2023, orders for high-value-added ships such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers are on the rise, bringing smiles to Korean shipbuilders.According to Clarkson Research, a British shipbuilding and shipping market analyst
Recently, it has been observed that the market capitalization of POSCO Group and Eco Group has evaporated by over 20 trillion won within a month due to the deteriorating performance of the secondary battery industry in the domestic stock market.According to the Korea Exchange on April 7, the combine
Samsung Electronics plans to increase its semiconductor investment in Taylor, Texas, to US$44 billion, as reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the April 5 (local time). Two years ago, Samsung announced a US$17 billion investment in the same area to build a state-of-the-art semiconductor manu