The government plans to allocate 910 billion won (US$679.87 million) to a seed fund, intending to establish a 1.7 trillion won venture capital. Notably, the government’s investment is scheduled to be executed entirely within the first quarter, providing a ray of hope for the cash-strapped venture in
The government has announced its plan to expand the global Korean cuisine industry to a scale of 300 trillion won by 2027. The strategy involves increasing the number of overseas Korean restaurants to 15,000 and more than tripling the number of Michelin-starred Korean restaurants compared to the cur
The upcoming introduction of Alibaba Group’s B2B shopping platform “1688.com” to the domestic market has raised concerns within the domestic e-commerce industry. The sector is already grappling with the competitive pricing strategies of Chinese direct procurement platforms such as AliExpress and Tem
Hana Securities announced on Feb. 1 that it is establishing a foreign investment solution team to expand its customer base to non-resident foreigners.Last year, the foreign investor registration system, which had been criticized as one of the obstacles for foreign investors in domestic investments,
Hahn & Company, South Korea’s largest private equity firm, announced today that it has acquired 100% of the SK Group’s semiconductor fine ceramics business for US$270 million (KRW360 billion). Under Hahn & Co.’s ownership, the company will operate under a new name, Solmics.Solmics produces high-puri
U.S.-based Aptiv, Hyundai Motor Group’s partner in autonomous driving technology development, will stop funding for its joint venture with the Korean automaker Motional. After six years of preparations, the company’s commercialization of unmanned autonomous taxis (robotaxis) has been delayed and its
South Korea’s exports posted double-digit growth in January, led by a recovery in semiconductor exports.Korea’s exports totaled US$54.69 billion in January, while Korea’s imports totaled US$54.39 billion, according to the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).Exports increased 18 per
Hironic, a specialist in beauty medical devices, announced the signing of a four-party memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Jan. 31 at the JW Marriott Hotel Seoul with the City of Taylor, Texas in the U.S.; Mastern America LLC; and The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Taylor, Texas.This MOU
The U.S. semiconductor equipment industry has voiced the opinion that companies from allied countries, including South Korea and Japan, should also be subject to the same level of comprehensive regulations that they face in the process of exporting to China. There is speculation within South Korea t
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who visited Korea to expand the artificial intelligence semiconductor ecosystem and met with top executives of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, is now set to visit American semiconductor firm Intel.According to industry sources on Feb. 1, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced
Samsung Electronics has partially halted the construction of its fifth semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.According to industry sources on Feb. 1, Samsung C&T sent a notice to some subcontractors at the construction site of the fifth plant on Jan. 30, stating that “due to the circu
IMM Investment has joined the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) to strengthen responsible investment.As of January 2024, IMM Investment announced that it officially signed and completed the formal membership process with the UN PRI. IMM Investment stated that the membersh
The sale of ECORBIT, which is considered the key element in the normalization of Taeyoung Engineering & Construction, is gaining momentum with the selection of lead managers. UBS and Citigroup Global Markets Securities, two global investment banks (IBs), have been assigned the task.According to sour
Cho Dong-chul, the president of Korea Development Institute (KDI), publicly issued a stark warning on government debt, going so far as to state, “The country will collapse.” In particular, he cautioned that South Korea’s national debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio could skyrocket to over 250
The pharmaceutical patent disputes between domestic biosimilar companies and original pharmaceutical firms are escalating.According to industry sources on Jan. 31, Samsung Bioepis and Celltrion are embroiled in patent disputes with original pharmaceutical companies.Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a subsidi
SK Networks, through its US affiliate, which has expanded direct and indirect investments in early-stage companies home and abroad, harnessing its global network and investment management processes, has successfully attracted external limited partners (LPs), a rare move in the world of corporate ven
Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Aerospace presented their state-of-the-art defense technologies to Dr. David Perry, President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI), who visited Hanwha facilities from January 23-24. The CGAI is recognized as Canada’s leading source of expertise on global affairs an
Italian supercar brand Lamborghini sold more cars in South Korea than in its home country of Italy in 2023.Lamborghini, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023, sold 10,112 units globally, up 10 percent from the previous year, the company said on Jan. 31. This was the first time Lamborghini ha
Kia Corp.’s market capitalization has outstripped Hyundai Motor’s. The automaker’s record-breaking earnings and strong shareholder return policy paid off handsomely, stock market experts say. Some of them believe that there is a remaining upside as the price-to-earnings ratio (PBR) is still below 1x
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at bk@nhqv.com -- Ed.The two terms that defined last year’s stock market were ‘new cold war’ and ‘supply chain reshaping’. In 2024, decoupling between DMs and EMs is to become a new market-defining feature. Today, the US’s bu