SK Innovation announced at its shareholder meeting held on March 28 that it will reassess numerous businesses it has aggressively pursued so far. The company expressed its intention to focus on select ventures and concentrate its efforts.According to industry sources on March 28, SK has been conduct
AIA Group Limited has published its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report 2023, "Sustaining Healthier, Longer, Better Lives." The report highlights the strong progress of AIA's five-pillar ESG Strategy.Among the significant achievements in 2023 AIA published its first Climate Transition
The 17-year trend of Japan’s persistent negative interest rates has come to an end, yet the market’s response remains tepid. This is attributed to assessments indicating difficulty in perceiving a full-fledged tightening. However, there are prospects suggesting that the yen may strengthen from the s
Samsung Group’s electronics affiliates are joining forces to expedite the commercialization of glass substrates, a material used in semiconductor packaging, by establishing a united front for joint research and development (R&D). This strategy aims to achieve commercialization faster than semiconduc
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.The Fed's rate cut playbook emphasizes cuts sooner rather than later and further tightening. With this in mind, we anticipate bullish steepening of yield curves starting from 2Q24. The US and EU are
HLB disclosed on March 4 that its board of directors has approved the issuance of 60 billion won in convertible bonds to domestic private equity funds and others. The primary purpose of this fundraising is to secure operational funds. Although the company currently holds over 65 billion won in cash
The Korean government has set the goal of seeing Korean green companies achieve 100 trillion won in overseas exports by 2027. To this end, it plans to proactively discover demand for overseas environmental businesses. In particular, it aims to build a sustainable foundation for an overseas expansion
Foreign investors who invest in domestic stocks and bonds will see significant improvements in the complex foreign exchange procedures they have faced so far. It is expected that the accessibility of foreign investors to the domestic market and the Korean won will improve.The Bank of Korea and the M
Despite the current economic downturn, South Korea’s top three battery manufacturers are ramping up their investments in infrastructure this year to strengthen their business foundations. According to industry sources on Feb. 18, LG Energy Solution plans to invest approximately 10.9 trillion won in
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is planning to broaden the range of corporate disclosures accessible to foreign investors in real-time and to introduce a new service exclusively in English called “English Open DART” by the end of the year.On Feb. 18, the FSS announced the road map for improv
HMM has said that the shipping company will respond to a slump in the shipping industry by using super-large ships and boosting sales efficiency, but external variables are expected to impede the sale of the company.According to a 2024 maritime and fisheries outlook report released on Feb. 15, the K
Global private equity fund (PEF) Carlyle Group will sell a 1.2 percent stake in KB Financial Group in a block deal worth about 32 billion won.According to sources in the investment banking (IB) industry on Feb. 14, Carlyle Group made a demand forecast after the close of the market to push forward th
It has been revealed that the National Pension Service (NPS) achieved a return on investment of over 40 percent through its investments in U.S. stocks last year. This is attributed to the historical bull market recorded in the U.S. stock market.According to the stockholding report (13F) submitted by
Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Korea Ocean Business Corporation announced on Feb. 7 that negotiations on the sale of Korean container shipping company HMM have been held with a consortium of Harim Group’s Pan Ocean and JKL as a preferred bidder, but their meeting finally ended empty-handed.“During
The Korea Exchange (KRX) announced on Feb. 6 that it will open the “30-Year Treasury Futures Market” from Feb. 19 to promote the advancement of the government bond market and hedge against risks from long-term interest rate fluctuations. This marks the first time in 16 years since the introduction o
Due to the strength of the U.S. dollar, the foreign exchange reserves decreased last month for the first time in three months.According to the statistics of the “Foreign Reserves as of the End of January 2024” publication released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Feb. 5, South Korea’s foreign reserves
The government has decided to announce measures in February to address the risk of foreign investors’ failure to settle foreign exchange payments as part of the structural improvements in South Korea’s foreign exchange market, which are set to begin in earnest in July.The plan is to manage the risks
The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) has announced on Feb. 5 that it achieved a double-digit rate of return last year, with total assets under management increasing by over US$20 billion (26.71 trillion won).The KIC revealed on the same day that the annual rate of return for the year 2023, denomin
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.While Secretary Yellen's key goal in 2023 was to secure TGA cash despite a massive fiscal deficit, the one for 2024 is to be improving the fiscal balance by using the tax revenue surplus. This implie
Cho Dong-chul, the president of Korea Development Institute (KDI), publicly issued a stark warning on government debt, going so far as to state, “The country will collapse.” In particular, he cautioned that South Korea’s national debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio could skyrocket to over 250