Although Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) was sold off to Hanwha Group last year, approval from the Fair Trade Commission is being delayed due to opposition from a competitor which is not a foreign company but HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, a Korean company.After Hanwha Group reported t
Prestige whisky of Pernod Ricard Korea, Royal Salute, was honored as the double-crown awardee in the whisky category of the ‘2023 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards’. Moreover, with craft bourbon whiskey Rabbit Hole and single pot still Irish whiskey Redbreast, new releases from last year to meet diversifi
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached atldh@sinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 preview: Exports of K9 howitzers, merger of Hanwha MunitionsWe now expect Hanwha Aerospace to post sales of KRW1.76tr (+28% YoY), operating profit of KRW108.5bn (+63% YoY), and operating margin of 6.2% (+1.
The Exynos is an in-house AP of Samsung Electronics, but it was not used in the Galaxy S23 series launched this year. This is because the Galaxy S22 series for 2022 was embroiled in the game optimization service (GOS) controversy last year. The GOS lowers the performance of Galaxy devices when playi
Samsung Electronics will develop a graphics processing unit (GPU) optimized for a next generation version of its in-house mobile application processor (AP) Exynos. While strengthening ecosystems centered on the Exynos, the Korean semiconductor giant will focus on developing GPUs that determine smart
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the prosecutor’s office are investigating Kakao and Kakao Entertainment over allegations that they hindered a tender offer by market price manipulation during the SM Entertainment control dispute in February.The case began on Feb. 16 during HYBE’s tender o
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com -- Ed.F&F’s 1Q23 earnings are likely to arrive short of expectations due to slowing domestic consumption and inventory depletion in China. However, with SSSG in China surpassing the 20%-level in March, we
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.We look forward to change of NCSOFT. Preparations are underway to reduce its sales portion for MMORPG titles (which has served as a disadvantage) and its domestic-centered business structure. If th
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at esshim@nhqv.com -- Ed.As a B2B SaaS company, BusinessOn started by offering electronic tax invoice solutions and now covers almost all business activities. Backed by the client network of its Smartbill service, the firm is
Mercedes-Benz overtook BMW in March, reclaiming the top spot in the Korean import car market.The number of newly registered imported cars reached 23,840 in Korea in March. This represented a decrease of 4.3 percent compared to the same period of 2022, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Di
Samsung Electronics’ Foundry Business Division has started volume production of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) chips in earnest, starting with foundry orders from Korean fables companies. Thanks to the growing AI chatbot craze fueled by the popularity of ChatGPT, the AI semiconductor m
As a world-leading consumer electronics company, LG not only innovates to make life better for all, but also to invent completely new lifestyles. But for the company to accomplish its ambitious goals, it requires its partners from around the world to help in its pursuit of superior technologies and
The Korean shipbuilding industry is moving closer to achieving this year’s order-taking target based on stable orders. Korean shipbuilders are concentrating on boosting profitability by selectively winning orders for liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered carriers, which are regarded as high-value ship
LG Energy Solution will seek lithium hydroxide production in Morocco with a Chinese company. Morocco is a country that has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. The North African nation also has a logistical advantage as a bridgehead to the European market.However, if the Unite
The Bank of Korea announced on April 5 that South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves increased US$780 million to US$426.07 billion last month.The U.S. dollar depreciated last month, when the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank caused more uncertainties and expectations for slower interest rate hikes in
The Japanese government announced on March 31 that a semiconductor manufacturing equipment export ban would be implemented in July. The ban will be applied to 23 types of equipment used for advanced chip manufacturing. Although targets were not specified, it is highly likely that the ban is to isola
Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp.) ranked third overall in the U.S. electric vehicle market in the first quarter of this year. Its competitors are rapidly expanding their share with the introduction of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a combined 14,703
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jhwon@shinhan.com -- Ed.We now expect Interojo to post decent results in line with market consensus for 1Q23 at consolidated sales of KRW31.9bn (+12.1% YoY) and operating profit of KRW7.4bn (+5.0% YoY, operating margin of 23.1%).Ex
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed.Although the decision to raise electricity and city gas rates in 2Q23 has been put on hold, investment focused on the need for rate hikes remains valid.EU energy market in last week of MarchOver M
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at ldh@sinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 preview: Sales recognition of ample order backlogHD Hyundai Electric is expected to have recorded sales of KRW501.9bn (+43% YoY) and operating profit of KRW35.2bn (+110% YoY) in 1Q23, beating the market co