The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at johnsoh@shinhan.com and chank@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Diversification of OLED businessDisplay plans to expand the production lineup at its large-size OLED plant from panels for TVs to premium monitors. OLED monitor
IT players accounted for 63.3 percent of the top 30 companies' combined market capitalization in 2020, Korea Exchange said on Jan. 12. The share rose from 25.4 percent in 2000.Korea's IT industry includes service companies such as Naver and Kakao, and electric and electronics companies such
Financial authorities reaffirmed on Jan. 12 that the ban on short selling will be lifted on March 15 as scheduled.Previously, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) sent a text message to reporters on the night of Jan. 11, saying that the temporary ban on short selling, which was introduced due to
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. are planning to raise up to one trillion won through the issuance of green bonds.Each of the two companies will issue more than 300 billion won worth of green bonds in February. If the outcome of a demand forecast (pre-subscription) for institutional investors
Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities is facing an investigation by prosecutors for an alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act.The Financial Supervisory Service notified the prosecution on Jan. 11 that Mirae Asset Daewoo violated the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act on Dec. 7, 2020.Mirae A
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at mj1224@shinhan.com. -- Ed. 4Q20 OP to meet consensus at KRW140bn (+16.5% QoQ)Kakao is expected to have registered operating profit of KRW140bn (+16.5% QoQ) on sales of KRW1.19tr (+7.7% QoQ) for 4Q20, meeting the consensus esti
Kakao announced on Jan. 12 its plans to bolster its business operations centered around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) by forming an ESG committee and enacting the corporate governance charter.Kakao held a board of directors meeting and agreed to launch an ESG Committee under the board.
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. The possibility of a January US consumption surprise is increasing due to the Blue Wave. Inflation expectations are to rise further spurring the uptrend in US 10yr TB yields. At the January MPC meet
Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Mahindra & Mahindra of India are at loggerheads over financial support for SsangYong Motor, which applied for a corporate rehabilitation process at the end of 2020.The court has allowed SsangYong Motor to undertake autonomous restructuring support (ARS) efforts until
The U.S. government gave a special permission so that US$7 billion in Iranian funds frozen in South Korea can be spent for humanitarian purposes such as vaccine purchase. At the same time, the U.S. government demanded settlement through JPMorgan Chase & Co.The South Korean government notified Iran o
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jack.baek@nhqv.com. -- Ed. As a representative player in the field of natural language processing, VAIV Company boasts over 20 years of experience in the AI industry. We positively view the firm’s low SI sales portion and s
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at michelle.cho@nhqv.com. -- Ed. In contrast to concerns over a potential increase in the number of at-risk firms due to the Covid-19 crisis, the FSS’s regular credit risk evaluation for 2020 shows improved results. Earnings
42Maru, a Korean artificial intelligence (AI) startup specializing in question-answering platform, announced on Jan. 7 that it has been selected for Industrial Bank of Korea’s acceleration program "IBK Changgong." The program provides customized assistance to startups for each stage of growth by act
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at ys.hwang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We believe that it is time to reflect the increased value of SK Innovation’s battery business on: 1) asset liquidation; and 2) sales of rechargeable batteries for HMC’s E-GMP. Margins at SK Innovat
Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn called for a challenging spirit in his New Year's address to group officials on Jan. 4. “Even in the era of disconnection and isolation, we must continue to move forward with an enterprising spirit to overcome limits and boundaries,” he said."I would like to
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea and the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan had a joint trade committee meeting on Jan. 6. During the video conference, the former requested South Korean consortiums’ participation in the Lower Spat Gah and Asrit-Kedam Hydroelectric Power Plant
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at j.ko@nhqv.com. -- Ed. The rules of the game appear to be changing. As LG Electronics is beefing up its VS business in order to spur growth momentum, its future earnings growth is set to outpace the sector average. With LGE’
The authors are analysts of NH Investment & Securities. They can be reached at jinmyung.choi@nhqv.com and hyundong.lee@nhqv.com, respectively. – Ed. Korea is a late-starter in the space development arena. The annual budget allocated for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), a leading govern
Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong’s trial related to the Samsung C&T-Cheil Industries merger has been postponed due to COVID-19. The trial preparation procedure has been put off from Jan. 14.This has to do with the Office of Court Administration’s advice to postpone non-arrest cases wit
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Jan. 5 that South Korean semiconductor companies’ capex for this year and next year are estimated at US$18.9 billion, up 20.4 percent from a year ago, and US$19.7 billion, respectively. It also said that those of China and Taiwan are estimated