Hanwha Life Insurance has become the first domestic insurance company to venture into overseas banking.The company announced on April 24 that it will acquire a 40 percent stake in Nobu Bank held by Lippo Group, the sixth largest conglomerate in Indonesia. The process of equity investment will be fin
Samsung Bioepis announced on April 23 that it has received final marketing authorization from the European Commission (EC) for Pyzchiva (project name SB17, ustekinumab), a biosimilar to Stelara. Pyzchiva’s active substance name is ustekinumab.Pyzchiva is the fourth autoimmune disease treatment devel
Instagram has surpassed Naver and YouTube to claim the spot of Korea’s second-most-used app.On April 23, sample data from domestic smartphone users by app and retail analysis service WiseApp showed that Instagram’s average monthly launch count for the first quarter was 14.93374 billion times. This p
Deutsche Bank has today announced it has been appointed by Euroclear Bank SA/NV as Cash Settlement and Foreign Exchange Bank (under Euroclear direct link) with the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The mandate is to support South Korean government bond activity for Korea Treasury Bonds (KTBs) and M
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
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are engaging in fierce competition to lead the next-generation semiconductor market in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Both companies are striving to gain an edge through new product development and mass production timing. With Intel joining the fray, the gl
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
Japanese NAND flash semiconductor manufacturer Kioxia is reportedly reigniting merger plans with Western Digital (WD), but SK hynix remains steadfast in its opposition.According to industry sources on April 18, including reports from the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kioxia may pursue a listing on the Tokyo Stoc
The collective net worth of Korea’s 50 Richest on the 2024 Forbes list rose slightly to US$115 billion from $106 billion, amid the country’s global chipmaking ambitions. The complete list can be found at www.forbes.com/korea, as well as in the April/May issue of Forbes Asia and the May issue of Forb
The amount of short-term foreign currency borrowings hastily acquired by banks alone has exceeded 4 trillion won. With the won-to-dollar exchange rate surpassing 1,400 won and reaching new highs, the risks associated with short-term foreign currency debts have also increased.According to business di
In the realm of emerging artificial intelligence startups, South Korea lags behind China and India in terms of scale, a recent survey reveals.On April 17, the Singapore-based tech news outlet Tech in Asia released a list of the Top 50 AI Startups in Asia receiving the most investment. China leads wi
Last year, South Korea’s secondary battery exports declined for the first time in eight years, not due to weakened industrial competitiveness but as a result of increased overseas production.According to the report “Factors Influencing Changes in Secondary Battery Exports and Future Directions” publ
Samsung Electronics’ newly launched “Galaxy S24 series” has enabled the company to reclaim its position as the global leader in the smartphone market in the first quarter of this year, overtaking Apple after two quarters.According to market research firm IDC on April 15, Samsung Electronics’ smartph
As Western Digital, the world’s third-largest NAND flash company, formalized a price hike for solid state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs) in the first half of the year, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix’s NAND business is expected to switch to the black in the first quarter of 2024.Western
The proportion of foreign investors in the KOSPI market has risen back to the 35 percent range. With expectations of a recovery in the semiconductor industry, a key focus of the government’s “Corporate Value-Up Program,” foreign investors are seen actively opening their wallets.According to the Kore
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
With the global surge in artificial intelligence (AI) prompting major tech companies like Apple to consider incorporating next-generation glass substrates in semiconductor processes, South Korean conglomerates including SKC, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and LG Innotek have joined the fray, heralding a
SK hynix is planning to invest 5.2 trillion won to establish a next-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductor production facility for artificial intelligence (AI) in Indiana in the U.S. This venture represents the company’s first HBM production plant abroad, with mass production slated to
Korea’s shipbuilding order intake surpassed China’s for the first time in three years in the first quarter of 2024.The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that shipbuilding orders in the first quarter of this year totaled US$13.6 billion, surpassing China’s US$12.6 billio
In the span of 9 months, the number of South Korean users on the Chinese e-commerce platform TEMU has increased elevenfold. With the surge in user numbers, TEMU has been actively seeking to establish a South Korean corporation and is on the lookout for domestic advertising agencies to intensify its