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
Following the victory of the anti-merger faction led by brothers Lim Jong-yoon and Lim Jong-hoon, former presidents of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, in the proxy fight at the Hanmi Science shareholders’ meeting, the OCI Group declared the suspension of the merger process.OCI Holdings, the holding company of
South Korea and Malaysia have agreed to resume negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced on March 26 that Jung In-gyo, chief trade negotiator of the Ministry, met with Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry of Mal
The value of overseas construction orders to Korean contractors exceeded US$30 billion for the fourth year in a row in 2023. Korean builders’ target for 2024 is US$40 billion. They have been looking for opportunities in overseas markets as the Korean real estate market has been slumping for a long t
The author is an analyist for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.HGI’s 2023 dividend announcement fell somewhat short of market expectations. However, if sufficient profits available for dividend are secured through system improvements, an expansion of shareholder
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.Excluding losses at YG Investment, YG Ent’s 4Q23 results met our expectations. BabyMonster’s first debut album, which is to feature the return of main member Ahyeon, is to be released on Apr 1. We e
Incheon Metropolitan City announced on Feb. 27 that European global investment firms had delivered letters of intent to Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, expressing their intention to invest a total of US$6 billion in the city.On Feb. 26, Mayor Yoo received letters of intent for investments in Paris, France, fro
With the Korean government’s decision to help domestic companies participate in the reconstruction of Iraq, a new city development project won by the E&C Division of Hanwha Corporation has restarted in the Middle Eastern country.The Bismayah New City Project in Iraq partially resumed after a year an
SK hynix President and CEO Kwak Noh-jung stated that the company is carefully considering the selection of a site for an advanced packaging facility in the United States, targeting all states.On Feb. 19, CEO Kwak made these remarks during a meeting with the press following the regular meeting of the
This year it is projected that the annual overseas construction contract orders for South Korean companies will reach US$40 billion. It is expected that the contract amount will expand compared to previous years through projects such as nuclear power plants, renewable energy, and investment developm
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. She can be reached at kimaram@shinhan.com -- Ed.Gaining a solid fan base among NAVER Webtoon subscribersYLAB, listed on the KOSDAQ in July this year, is a webtoon studio that has published popular titles like Island, Reawakened Man, Terror Man, Get Sc
The CEO of EOFlow, Kim Jae-jin, who is the largest shareholder, had 664,000 of his shares sold on the stock market due to debt recovery measures taken by financial institutions.The proceeds from the sale were entirely utilized to repay the principal of CEO Kim Jae-jin’s stock collateral loan. With t
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has taken a proactive stance in a full-scale confrontation with short-selling forces, revealing that it has detected 33 cases of naked short selling this year and imposed fines and penalties amounting to 10.5 billion won (US$8.11 million). FSS Governor Lee Bok
The financial authorities have played a strong hand with a “full prohibition of short selling” to restore market trust. Unlike the global trend during the COVID-19 crisis, this time, South Korea alone has moved to prohibit short selling, drawing significant attention to the rationale behind this dec
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 recent revelation of illegal short selling by global investment banks (IBs) and a plunge in the stock market are fueling a debate on a total ban on short selling of all listed stocks. “We will improve all systems from scratch,” Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun said in re
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.We lower our TP on ContentreeJoongAng to W16,000, reflecting both declines in broadcasting peer multiples and the continued sluggish performance of theaters. However, we adhere to a Buy rating. With
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com -- Ed.BOK likely to keep base rate at 3.50% given inflation and household debtAt the upcoming October meeting, we expect the Monetary Policy Board (MPB) of the Bank of Korea (BOK) to make a unanimous decision to
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jooyh@nhqv.com -- Ed.Although high-base burden remains a factor, overall sector earnings for 3Q23 should show improvement versus 1H23. We see many positives to look forward to as end-year approaches, including the resumpti
Korea’s industrial production, which had shrunken due to a slump in the semiconductor industry, made a comeback as semiconductor production rebounded.According to Statistics Korea on Oct. 4, the nation’s semiconductor production surged 13.4 percent month on month in August, the largest increase in f