It has been revealed that the dividend payouts of major domestic companies increased by nearly 10 percent last year. Particularly noteworthy is the recent announcement by the government regarding the introduction of the “Corporate Value-Up Program” aimed at addressing the “Korea Discount,” which ref
South Korea’s aircraft exports exceeded US$1 billion for the first time in history last year. The successful export of FA-50 fighter jets to Poland is considered to have contributed significantly to this achievement.According to the Korea International Trade Association on Feb. 10, South Korea’s air
Pharmaceutical companies are expanding their presence into Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Vietnam. There is a high preference for Korean products and a high growth potential in these markets, leading to strong optimism about the possibility of expansion. Among these countries, Indonesia
Daewoo Engineering & Construction announced on Feb. 8 that Chairman Jung Won-joo visited India from the 31st of last month to the 6th of this month, where he held meetings with several business figures, including Vice Foreign Minister Dammu Lavi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and executives fro
The CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee of POSCO Holdings finally chose former POSCO President Jang In-hwa, a long-time POSCO insider, with rich experience in the steel business.POSCO Holdings held an extraordinary board meeting on Feb. 8 and resolved to select former POSCO President Jang In-hwa
SK Earthon is securing investment funds for future growth engines by selling its stake in Peru LNG Company, LLC.On Feb. 7, the company signed a stake transfer agreement with MidOcean Energy to sell 20 percent of its stake in Peru LNG for US$256.5 million.Peru LNG is a company that owns a liquefied n
President Yoon Suk-yeol reiterated the importance of adopting a global standard to address the “Korea Discount,” which indicates the undervaluation of the domestic stock market, during his televised speech on Feb. 7. This has sparked increased interest in low price-to-book ratio (PBR) stocks among i
Samsung Electronics is gearing up for the commencement of operations at its semiconductor contract manufacturing foundry in Taylor, Texas, in the U.S. by deploying manufacturing-related personnel in the second half of the year. If the current situation persists, there should be no issues with starti
Samsung has not officially responded to the news that prosecutors are appealing the court’s decision to acquit Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong. However, there’s an atmosphere of tension as the reality of him not yet being free from legal risks looms.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has decided to review the designation of dominant business entities, which is at the core of the Fair Competition Promotion Act (the Platform Act for short). This means that virtually, the Korean market watchdog will review the designation from scratch. Industr
The domestic copper foil industry is strategically increasing investments in North America and Europe, aiming to gain a competitive advantage over China, which is launching a low-cost offensive in the medium to long term.As of Feb. 7, industry sources indicate that Lotte Advanced Materials plans to
SK hynix and Taiwan’s TSMC have established an “AI semiconductor alliance.” SK hynix, riding the wave of generative AI popularity, has emerged as a leader in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) market, while TSMC is the world’s largest semiconductor foundry. The strategy aims to consolidate the companie
Kim Joo-sun, president of SK hynix, who is in charge of the newly established artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, announced on Feb. 7, “We will continue to ensure that no one doubts the proposition ‘AI memory equals SK hynix’ by enhancing communication and partnership to maximize the value
Hyundai Glovis has secured four of the world’s largest pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs). They are expected to help alleviate a shortage of vessels for the Korean automobile industry.Hyundai Glovis announced on Feb. 6 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Ocean Business Cor
Despite a slowdown in the growth of electric vehicles, it was revealed that the usage of electric vehicle batteries increased by 38.6 percent last year compared a year earlier. Chinese companies CATL and BYD jointly secured the top two positions in the global market. The market share of South Korea’
Until 10 years ago, there was no semiconductor company in the world that could rival Samsung Electronics. In 2011, it surpassed Intel to become the global leader in the semiconductor market in terms of capitalization. By 2012, it rose to fifth place among global information technology (IT) companies
Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced on Feb. 7 that it has been awarded the highest grade in the climate change response sector, “Leadership A,” by the Korean Committee of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global sustainable management evaluation organization.Leadership A is a grade awa
The Korea Development Institute (KDI) recently evaluated the state of the South Korean economy, noting a recovery in exports but a slowdown in domestic consumption. This marks the third consecutive month that the KDI has assessed a “slowdown in domestic consumption.”On Feb. 7, the KDI assessed the e
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.WFG’s CET1 ratio is now at 11.9%. While we positively view y-y improvement in the figure, we believe that CET1 ratio needs to be actively strengthened in order for WFG to meet market expectations for