This year, South Korea is expected to record a growth rate lower than that of Japan. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has maintained its earlier projection of 1.4 percent for South Korea’s growth rate this year. Japan’s growth rate projection for this year has risen to 2.0 percent, expected to
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed a fine of 3 billion won (US$2.23 million) and issued a payment order against China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCECL), a Chinese state-owned construction company, for its failure to provide written subcontract agreements and withho
Forecasts suggest that the shipment volume of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays used in tablet PCs and laptops will grow at an annual rate of 41% until 2027.On Oct. 10, market research firm UBI Research published a report titled “Analysis of IT OLED Technology and Industry Trends.” This y
Beijing Hyundai, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Company and its Chinese partner, has lowered its asking price for the Chongqing factory by 30%.According to reports by Reuters and local Chinese auto media outlets on Oct. 9 (local time), Beijing Hyundai specified in the documents submitted to t
The U.S. government has decided to indefinitely postpone export controls on equipment for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix’s semiconductor plants in China. While there’s some relief in the semiconductor industry, uncertainties over their China plants haven’t entirely vanished, making the incentive f
The U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) has pointed out that the U.S. sanctions on 28-nm semiconductors have a strategic hole. There are also reports that large U.S. semiconductor manufacturers are lukewarm about cooperating with U.S. authorities, giving the United States unexpected difficulti
Lotte Chemical has sold off all of its plants producing general-purpose petrochemicals in China. General-purpose petrochemicals have become a marginal business for the company with deteriorated profitability due to aggressive expansion by Chinese companies.According to industry sources on Oct. 9, Lo
While the number of foreign nationals subscribing to domestic personal medical insurance is on the rise, it has been observed that the incurred losses and loss ratios of foreign policyholders under personal medical insurance have also increased.According to the “Status of Foreign Nationals’ Personal
Korea’s shipbuilding industry lost ground to its rival, the Chinese shipbuilding industry, in September.According to Clarkson Research, a U.K.-based shipbuilding and shipping market analyst, global ship orders totaled 1.86 million CGT (71 ships) in September of 2023, down 59 percent from the same mo
Korea’s foreign exchange reserves fell for the second consecutive month in September as the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen.Korea’s foreign exchange reserves stood at US$414.1 billion at the end of September, down by US$4.18 billion from US$418.3 billion at the end of August, according to foreig
Tesla’s Model Y, a five-seat midsize electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), was the top-selling imported vehicle in Korea in September. Purchases of the model swelled as it was loaded with Chinese-made lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries which helped lower its retail price, analysts say.According
“We see the power of knowing this case,” said journalist-turned-director Julie Ha about her first documentary film, ‘Free Chol Soo Lee’ ahead of its release in Korea later this month. The second-generation Korean American recently traveled to Seoul for special pre-screenings, one of which took place
LG Energy Solution has secured a long-term agreement with Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, ensuring that it will now supply electric vehicle (EV) batteries to all of the top five global automakers, namely Toyota, Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan, Hyundai, and GM.On Oct. 5, LG Energy Solution announc
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea reached a record high of US$23.95 billion (32.48 trillion won) by the end of the third quarter this year. The surge in investment, primarily focused on advanced industries such as secondary batteries, came from the European Union (EU) and regions in the
In a move seen as a counter to Apple’s upcoming pre-sale of the iPhone 15 series in South Korea on Oct. 6, Samsung Electronics has unveiled its Galaxy Fan Edition (FE) series after a two-year hiatus.On Oct. 4, Samsung Electronics announced the launch of its new Galaxy FE lineup comprising Galaxy S23
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at kyeongkeun.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.Shinsung ST is a manufacturer of busbars and module cases for EV batteries. The firm has secured differentiated competitiveness thanks to its in-house mold design technology and its establish
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at kyuha.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.While global smartphone sales continued to slide y-y in August, the Chinese market achieved y-y growth for the first time since Mar 2021. We expect market conditions to continue improving after Sep
As the global energy market is rapidly changing, South Korea, the world’s third-largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after Japan and China, is also closely monitoring the situation.According to the Korea Customs Service on Sept. 3, South Korea’s cumulative LNG import volume and import val
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) is expected to be the first company to win a second batch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier orders for its LNG project from Qatar Energy, the state-run energy company of Qatar, beating out Chinese shipbuilders. The contract alone is worth US$3.9 billion for 17
Tensions and conflicts are intensifying in the “semiconductor war” between the U.S. and China. As the first anniversary approaches of the U.S. government’s decision to restrict exports of semiconductor chips and equipment to China on Oct. 7 of last year, an update on policies regarding “Artificial I