Despite a sharp decline in operating profits, the top 50 companies in the stock market (KOSPI) have increased their workforce by more than 13,000 employees.According to the semi-annual reports released on Aug. 16, the combined operating profit of the top 50 companies in the KOSPI index, excluding fi
Japan has reported a 1.5% economic growth rate in the second quarter, significantly outpacing South Korea’s 0.6%. Despite the global economic slowdown, Japan continues its growth streak for the third consecutive quarter. Its stock market has also reached its highest level in 33 years, indicating a r
Last year, three out of four foreign recipients of unemployment benefits were Chinese nationals, including those of Korean descent, according to a recent survey. Over the past five years, the total unemployment benefits received amounted to 266 billion won (US$199.70 million), which was 784 billion
With 11 out of 13 new partners being South Korean firms, Samsung Electronics has crossed a significant threshold this year where the proportion of its domestic partners has exceeded half for the first time. This move is seen as an intention to strengthen a supply chain centered around domestic compa
Huawei announced its business results for the first half of 2023 today. Overall performance was in line with forecast.In 2023 H1, Huawei generated CNY310.9 billion in revenue, with a year-on-year increase of 3.1% and a net profit margin of 15.0%. The company's ICT infrastructure business contrib
SK hynix Inc. announced today that it has begun supplying the industry’s first 24-gigabyte (GB) Low Power Double Data Rate 5X (LPDDR5X1) mobile DRAM package to its customers, following the mass production of LPDDR5X in November 2022.“The company integrated the High-K Metal Gate (HKMG2) process in th
The Chinese government has decided to virtually fully permit overseas group travel for its citizens for the first time in over three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, Chinese group tourism to South Korea will resume after more than six years, unlocking the travel restrict
Over the past five years since 2018, Samsung has reduced the number of its overseas subsidiaries by approximately 100, whereas Hanwha has increased its number by more than 400, leading the group with the most overseas entities. Particularly, Samsung has actively reduced 22 of its subsidiaries in Chi
Despite a global rush of major companies reshoring, South Korea uniquely trails its competitors in encouraging businesses to return, with the growth in returning companies remaining slow. Despite recent government efforts to encourage reshoring, assessments indicate that it is still insufficient.Acc
South Korea needs to strengthen its import-export trade with the United States through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in order to become one of the top four global defense export powers, according to a Korea Institute of Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) report titled “Recent Trends an
Woori Bank announced on Aug. 6 that it entered into a strategic alliance on Aug. 4 with BuildBlock, a U.S. real estate investment platform company, to provide comprehensive real estate investment services.BuildBlock is a Korean startup headquartered in Silicon Valley and was selected as a promising
Hyundai Motor Group has invested US$50 million in Tenstorrent, an artificial intelligence semiconductor startup based in Canada. Hyundai Motor Group has been reinforcing its semiconductor capabilities through strategic collaborations and by establishing a new semiconductor development lab this year.
The rise of Poland as a prominent hub for Eastern European electric vehicle battery and defense industries has positioned it as a strategic focal point for domestic and international corporations. The recent collaboration with Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts has also attracted attention from domest
The recent downgrade of the United States credit rating by Fitch due to fiscal deficits and government debt holds important lessons for South Korea, which finds itself grappling with an inability to break free from the addiction to expanding its fiscal measures. Under the stewardship of the Moon Jae
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at yjjung86@shinhan.com -- Ed.After-sales parts division entering the home stretch to recoveryThe key variable determining auto sector earnings has been shifting from ASP levels (inflation) in 2022 to the normalization of supply chai
According to industry sources on Aug. 1, the LG Group is planning to double its current investment in U.S. Silicon Valley venture companies through its Corporate Venture Capital firm, LG Technology Ventures, to 1 trillion won. The aim is to synergize with the future businesses of each LG Group affil
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong ambitiously invested 9 trillion won (approximately US$8 billion at the time) in the company Harman, and after a span of about six years Harman has now firmly established itself as a robust and integral part of Samsung Electronics’ business portfolio.In Samsung Electroni
The trend of collaborations between domestic and foreign enterprises of various sizes to achieve success in new drug development is on the rise. Such collaborations are viewed within the industry as a potential model for “Korean-style Open Innovation” in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.Accord
The newly appointed CEO, Lee Hak-jae, is set to propel Incheon International Airport’s logistics services into a new era. His leadership promises to infuse fresh vitality into the airport’s logistics operations and fulfill his vision of establishing Incheon as a global logistics hub.Born in 1964, Pr
For the first time, Chinese shipbuilders have won large containership orders from global shipping giants. The Chinese government gave full support to the Chinese shipbuilder in landing this order. This helped China rise as the No. 1 shipbuilding powerhouse for large containerships in the world in th