The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at drlee@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Merger between Line and Z Holdings approvedNaver announced that, as of August 4, the merger between Line (3938 JP) and Z Holdings (4689 JP) passed anti-monopoly reviews in relevant countries. Naver J.Hub (Naver’s
42Maru, an AI startup specializing in question answering (QA) platform, announced on Aug. 5 that it has attracted 2 billion won investment from Korea Development Bank (KDB).The company will sell 2 billion won worth of convertible bond to KDB. These bonds can be converted into shares with the convers
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We positively view Mirae’s efforts to secure new growth drivers via its partnership with NAVER Financial and its entering into a note-issuing business. But, uncertainties regarding Mirae’s invested a
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Arrival of fintech platform-based securities firms to intensify competition in domestic brokerage marketDeng Xiaoping once said, “I don't care if the cat is black or white, so long as it catches
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We expect NAVER’s 2H20 results to be driven by a recovery at the ad business and the leading position of the commerce business. In addition, solid growth at the Cloud, V live, and B2B service bus
ANASIS-II, the first military-only communication satellite of South Korea, was successfully launched at 06:30, July 21. As a result, South Korea has become the 10th country in the world that has its own dedicated military satellite.About 32 minutes after the launch, the satellite-launch vehicle sepa
Netflix is solidifying its position as the largest platform in the paid broadcasting market of South Korea. At the same time, disputes are arising with regard to network fees, profit distribution, music royalties, and so on.The number of Netflix users in South Korea who pay for the service jumped fr
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at drlee@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Software index closes -4.3% DoDThe software index closed July 16 at -4.3% DoD, underperforming the KOSPI (-0.8%) by 3.5pp. The biggest losers were recently the biggest winners, with Naver/Kakao/NCsoft down 4.7%/4.
The Hong Kong national security law which came into effect on July 1 has unexpectedly raised concerns about leakage of Korean internet users’ personal data to China.Naver, Korea's largest portal, has been embroiled in controversy over its handling of personal information. Naver transferred some
Naver announced on July 16 that it will operate an industry-academic cooperation program with the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) to foster IT talent.Founded in 1956, HUST is Vietnam's most prestigious university which has made outstanding achievements in science and engineerin
The authors are analysts of NH Investment & Securities. They can be reached at jy.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Greater shift towards non-face-to-face commerce could give birth to online retail giantThe Korean New Deal also seeks to foster non-face-to-face businesses, which is to affect retail, platform, and
Operating profits of major KOSPI-listed companies are forecasted to shrink by more than 20 percent compared to 2019 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 spread.Financial information provider FnGuide said on July 5 that securities firms estimated the consolidated operating profits of 153 major KOSPI-list
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at mj1224@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Sharp growth of shopping service driven by NAVER Pay rewards programNAVER held an online IR presentation through NAVER Band on July 1 to showcase its growth in various indicators. When comparing thre
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Consumers’ Internet usage patterns have changed due to Covid-19, with the dependence on NAVER, Korea’s number-one platform operator, increasing. Utilizing its portal platform, the company is also
The author is a strategist of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at tedoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Helped by robust monetary and fiscal policies, the US’s real economic indicators appear to have hit bottom in May, ahead of expectations. However, the Fed’s asset purchase is on the decline, and the
The combined market cap of Naver, Kakao and NCSoft totaled 91,243.3 billion won on June 24 with investors continuing to buy the stocks predicted to continue to grow in the post-COVID-19 industrial structure characterized by the lack of physical contact. For reference, the combined market cap at the
As discussions on the introduction of the so-called "Google tax" led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have been delayed, countries around the world are arbitrarily introducing their own versions of "digital service tax." Concerns are being raised that introduction of such
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at drlee@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY and raise target price to KRW298,000We maintain BUY and raise our TP by 19.2% to KRW298,000 to reflect (1) higher values for major assets (e.g., Z Holdings) and treasury shares and (2) a higher valuat
The Korean government has rolled up its sleeves to foster Korean platforms that can compete with multinational OTT services such as Netflix and YouTube.The government laid out the Digital Media Ecosystem Development Plan at a meeting of the Information and Communication Strategy Committee on June 22
Lee Sang-heon, who is in charge of precision hospital information system (P-HIS) establishment at Korea University Medical Center, remarked at a conference on June 22 that his team’s cloud-based P-HIS will be a solution for medical institutions with HISs individually established by hospitals entaili