The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at mj1224@shinhan.com. -- Ed. 2Q21 OP forecast at KRW173.7bn (+10.2% QoQ)We now expect Kakao to report operating profit of KRW173.7bn (+10.2% QoQ) on sales of KRW1.34tr (+6.8% QoQ) for 2Q21, slightly missing the KRW179.6bn consen
LG Group has started to invest in the metaverse, a word made up of the prefix "meta" (meaning beyond) and the stem "verse" from universe. It means the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet.LG Technology Ventures recently invested in U.S. startup Wave, a company specializing
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We raise our TP on YG Ent to W71,000, noting the firm’s mid/long-term momentum from both the resumption of offline concerts and full-fledged growth at the fandom business. Despite an absence of act
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at mj1224@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Upbeat on rise in investment asset value and strong release of new gameWe find the increase in value of investment assets positive, with recent share price gains for Coway (021240 KS) and Hive Entert
India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC), which is currently being built in New Delhi, India, will represent the MICE industry of Southwest Asia. IICC will be operated and managed by KINEXIN Convention Management Private Limited, which is a consortium company founded by the Korea Intern
LG Display will accelerate its penetration of the mobility display market with transparent OLED panels.LG Display announced on June 16 that it will introduce its transparent OLED panels for trains at the Korea Railways and Logistics Fair 2021, which is held at BEXCO in Busan from June 16-19. The tra
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. For the media/entertainment industry, the key phrase for 2H21 is to be ‘earnings recovery following vaccination’. Market interest is to focus on the businesses which show earnings recovery rather t
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. - Internet and game company shares, which led the 2020 stock market on the theme of ‘contactless’, have now entered a period of price correction. While the number of Covid-19 cases has yet to mea
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. In 1H21, strong sales of online concert tickets and albums have reconfirmed the strong global fan base for YG Ent’s main artists. In 2H21, following collaboration with Weverse, we expect the firm’s
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We maintain a Positive outlook on the media/entertainment industry. Given: 1) an expansion of new sales sources amid Covid-19; and 2) the possibility of resumed operations following vaccination, ou
The author is a strategist of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at lawrence.kim@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Considering the ongoing expansion in market liquidity and corporate earnings improvement, the stock market looks to have additional room to rise, and thus, it is not yet time to leave the par
CJ ENM announced on May 31 that it would invest five trillion won for five years to come to build a K-content universe and turn itself into a global total entertainment company by launching TVING abroad and utilizing franchise intellectual properties.The scale of the investment is unprecedented in t
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Astory recorded 1Q21 OP of W0.8bn. Production progress for Jirisan (drama series) was slow, and margins were diluted by a large portion of outsourced dramas. But, amid expectations towards favorabl
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. YG Ent booked a 1Q21 earnings surprise, as margins from Blackpink’s online concert, which signaled the start of YG’s fandom business, surpassed expectations. The fandom business is likely to show h
Naver and Kakao have acquired North American web novel content platforms, starting a full-scale web content platform war.Naver announced on May 11 that it has completed the acquisition of the world's largest web novel platform "Wattpad." The company’s board of directors decided to acquire Wattpa
SK Telecom (SKT) announced on May 11 its earnings for the first quarter of 2021 on a K-IFRS consolidated basis: revenue of 4.781 trillion won, operating income of 388.8 billion won, and net income of 572.0 billion won.Compared to the same period last year, SKT’s consolidated revenue and operating in
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at drlee@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY; Revise up TP by 4.7% to KRW135,000 We maintain BUY on Kakao as we lift our TP by 4.7% to KRW135,000. While our revenue and OP forecasts have been left largely unchanged, we have revised up 2021E and
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. CJ ENM logged a 1Q21 earnings surprise thanks to strong earnings at the media division. While investment in TVING content had yet to reach full swing, profitability of related works proved robust.
South Koreans’ anti-China sentiment is peaking. Gangwon Province and Pocheon City recently canceled their Chinatown construction projects amid extremely strong objections. These days, more and more South Koreans are showing negative reactions to everything related to China and the examples include f
The Korea Exchange is planning to actively help unicorns go public in order to prevent them from opting for foreign stock markets instead of the South Korean market.Korea Exchange Chairman Sohn Byung-doo met with the CEOs of securities firms on April 29. “After Coupang, an increasing number of South