The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at moonjoon.chang@kbfg.com. -- Ed. 2Q21 review: Earnings miss consensus on unexpected expenses from performance bond call— Hyundai E&C reported preliminary 2Q21 revenue of KRW4.38tn (-3.5% YoY, +5.6% QoQ), OP of KRW141.0bn (-8.4% YoY, -29.
SK Hynix's acquisition of the NAND flash business from Intel unit has been approved by all major countries except China.While China approved the acquisition of MagnaChip Semiconductor by a Chinese private equity fund management company in one month, it has been delaying SK Hynix's acquisitio
Campaign Asia-Pacific and Nielsen announced on July 20 that Samsung topped their Asia's Top 1000 Brands list for this year. The 18-year-old list shows consumer preferences in 14 Asia-Pacific countries, and Samsung took the top spot for the 10th consecutive year this year."Samsung Group is the bi
People Power Party lawmaker Hong Suk-joon announced on July 20 that foreigners’ land ownership in South Korea increased from 190,550,794 square meters in 2011 to 253,346,774 square meters in 2020.The lawmaker pointed out that Chinese in particular are increasing their ownership very rapidly. Accordi
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Several media outlets are reporting that Intel is in talks to acquire GF. Should the M&A materialize, we believe that foundry industry competition will intensify, with existing players such as Samsung
The Korea Customs Service announced on July 18 that South Korea’s semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) imports totaled a record high of US$9.42 billion in the first half of this year, the figure jumped 68 percent year on year and 102.2 percent compared to the second half of 2020, and the prev
Citigroup Inc. is promoting a package deal with Standard Chartered (SC) Bank to sell Citibank Korea and its retail operations in Southeast Asia together. The American bank has reportedly suggested that if SC Bank takes over Citibank Korea, it would be given priority in acquiring Citigroup’s retail o
SK Inc. has hit the jackpot by investing in SES (formerly known as SolidEnergy Systems) at an early stage. The value of its investment in the U.S. startup has increased more than 14-fold.SES is taking steps to offer its stocks on the New York Stock Exchange through its merger with a special purpose
LG Technology Ventures has invested in Solid Energy System (SES), a next-generation battery startup in the United States, following SK Inc., Hyundai Motor, Kia Corp. and General Motors.SES disclosed the list of additional investors, which included LG Technology Ventures, announcing the schedule for
The United States is considering a digital trade agreement in the Indo-Pacific region as a way to keep China in check. Bloomberg reported on July 12 that the potential agreement partners include Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.A digital trade agreement covers dig
The National Tax Service (NTS) announced on July 7 that it has initiated tax investigations regarding 46 persons suspected of being involved in new types of offshore tax evasion.The investigations are underway in cooperation with foreign taxation authorities, including Swiss, and the types include o
Hyundai Motor Co. will invest US$100 million in SolidEnergy System (SES), a U.S. all solid state battery developer, to secure next-generation battery technology. General Motors (GM) is a major shareholder of SES. This means the two major carmakers in Korea and the United States have joined forces in
SK Hynix has yet to obtain approval from China and Singapore to acquire the NAND flash business from Intel. The company is on alert as China has refused to endorse a couple of M&A deals in the global semiconductor industry.SK Hynix has received approval from six of the eight countries that reviewed
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on June 30 that South Korea came in fourth out of 194 countries in this year’s Global Cybersecurity Index of the International Telecommunication Union.The United States topped the list, the runner-ups are the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, and Estonia took
South Korea and the European Union signed their FTA 10 years ago. According to the Korea International Trade Association, the FTA has led to a considerable increase in automobile, battery and chemical product exports from South Korea to the European Union.In 2010, South Korea’s automobile exports to
U.K. authorities approved SK Hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND flash business. According to SK Hynix, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom announced on June 28 that it has unconditionally approved the deal.With the approval, SK Hynix passed the screening proces
Samsung C&T announced on June 24 that it has become the first Korean construction company to receive a building information modeling (BIM) certificate. The international standard on BIM (ISO 19650) was established by the British Standards Institution (BSI), a founding member of the International Org
Global consulting firm Mercer announced on June 22 that Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, is currently the world’s most expensive city to live in for overseas workers, and it is followed by Hong Kong and Beirut. Seoul ranked 11th out of 209 for two years in a row.This year, Tokyo and Zurich wen
The leader of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an organization which represents tens of millions of firms in India, has called for a ban on Battlegrounds Mobile India, a mobile game to be launched by Krafton, a Korean game company.In a tweet on June 17, Praveen Khandelwal, national sec
Rising international oil prices are adversely affecting South Korean industries, including oil refining and petrochemical as well as aviation and marine transport.This year, the prices of WTI, Brent and Dubai crude peaked on June 16. Specifically, the WTI price reached US$72.15 per barrel (highest s