With the unprecedented boom in the U.S. stock market since the beginning of this year, domestic individual investors have poured 4 trillion won (US$3 billion) into direct stock investments abroad, surpassing four times the amount invested during the same period last year. Securities firms are also r
Since taking office in early July 2022, Ongjin County Mayor Moon Kyung-bok has been busy listening to the voices of his residents. This has been producing remarkable positive results.In 2023, Ongjin County paved the way for a new leap forward, including finalizing a plan for the construction of Baek
Starting in the second half of this year, non-index-linked general public funds will be directly listed on the Korea Exchange and traded like exchange traded funds (ETFs). With increased convenience for investors and reduced sales commissions, expectations are high for the revitalization of the fund
The South Korean government is considering applying antitrust regulations following abrupt price hikes by major content platforms such as YouTube and Netflix.A senior ruling party official stated in a media interview on Dec. 21, “A 40% hike in consumer prices at once is a kind of monopolistic abuse.
Alibaba Group’s 1688.com will open its platform in South Korea in February next year with a local partner in Korea. 1688.com is a business-to-business (B2B) platform with high price competitiveness and a wide range of products.KOSDAQ-listed Neorigin recently formed DC Virus, a joint venture with Chi
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at pk.park@nhqv.com -- Ed.In November, the number of DeepCARS installed in general hospitals exceeded the expectation level of 55. Penetration into 65 hospitals (11 tertiary hospitals) is expected within the year. We see 4Q23
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will set up a special short-selling investigation group to crack down on illegal short selling. The team will conduct full investigations into all short-selling transactions by global investment banks (IBs) since May 2021, when short selling was partially reop
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at dongyang.kim@nhqv.com -- Ed.Hanwha Corp’s in-house businesses have been resettled as construction, global, and momentum. The expansions of its green energy/materials and high-value added new ventures are to usher in earnin
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com -- Ed.We hosted a non-deal roadshow (NDR) for The Nature Holdings following its 2Q23 earnings announcement. The attending institutional investors expressed interest in its timeline for overseas expansion
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jooyh@nhqv.com -- Ed.We lower our TP on HHS to W60,000. However, considering the value of its cash equivalents and equity holdings, the firm’s EV points to significant undervaluation.Lower TP to W60,000We lower our TP for
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at eunsang.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.At SK REIT, we expect: 1) the incorporation of a water treatment facility; 2) special dividends on the sale of gas stations; and 3) interest cost reduction effects from capital increase. We reco
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jooyh@nhqv.com -- Ed.Despite a reduction in daigou-related sales, profitability at Hotel Shilla improved beyond expectations in 2Q23 on an increase in general (high-margin) retail customers amid a recovery in travel demand
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com -- Ed.We expect FILA Holdings to report consensus-missing 2Q23 results, affected by widening losses at the US business. Although design commissions and royalties should remain stable, we trim our earnings
It has been 30 years since Korea began hiring foreign workers in earnest with the introduction of the Industrial Trainee System in 1993, which was replaced by the employment permit system in 2004. But chaos is still lingering in the field.According to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on Jul
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at pk.park@nhqv.com -- Ed.GPM for domestic first-line NSCLC treatment sales is estimated at 62% of GPM for Janssen’s global Lazertinib royalties in 2028. When enrolled in insurance coverage, drug prices tend to fall on a hike
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com -- Ed.The Nature Holdings’ OP for 1Q23 came in sluggish due to both a higher COGS-to-sales ratio and greater labor costs for advertising and new brands. But, the overseas sales portion for NG has been on a
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jooyh@nhqv.com -- Ed.We maintain a somber outlook towards the domestic retail sector for 2H23. Consumer sentiment remains sluggish amid the economic slowdown and high interest rates, and offline sales growth should be weig
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com -- Ed.Kolmar Korea’s 1Q23 results proved weaker than expected due to both a rise in the non-consolidated COGS ratio and sluggish earnings at subsidiaries. However, order growth expectations remain valid a
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com -- Ed.FILA Holdings delivered an earnings surprise for 1Q23 thanks to sound results for Acushnet. But, given reduced 2023 guidance, the timing of FILA rebranding and an earnings turnaround now look to unf
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com -- Ed.In 1Q23, Samsung Securities’ bond management division entered the black q-q, exceeding the market expectations, and the brokerage division also performed well. Expecting its stable business flow to