Three out of every 10 imported sport utility vehicles (SUVs) sold in the first half of 2023 were high-priced cars worth more than 100 million won.A total of 28,005 imported SUVs costing more than 100 million won were sold in Korea from January to August this year, up 15.9 percent from 24,156 units i
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
Micron, the world’s third-largest DRAM company, will actively target the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market beginning from 2024. Competition for a bigger market share between Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron will intensify, market experts forecast.According to industry sources, Micron said
After an absence of 1 year and 9 months, Samsung Electronics’ proprietary mobile application processor (AP), Exynos, is set to return. Following last year’s controversy over the Game Optimization Service of the Galaxy S22, Samsung had been exclusively using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 2nd generation in
In September, South Korea achieved its highest semiconductor exports in the past year, while exports to China also reached their peak for the year. Analysts suggest that semiconductor exports have gradually found their footing and are on an upward trajectory, and exports to China have entered a sign
South Korea’s three battery manufacturers – LG Energy Solution, SK on, and Samsung SDI – continue to experience rapid growth. As of the end of September this year, it is projected that the cumulative order value achieved by these three companies will exceed 1 quadrillion won.According to industry re
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at yk.choi@nhqv.com -- Ed.While China’s petrochemical demand set new records in Aug 2023, product spreads remained weak, owing to both strong oil prices and lofty supply. While capacity ramp-up should decrease in 2024, alread
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at pk.park@nhqv.com -- Ed.The bio industry has failed to rebound after the slowdown in antibody drug market growth in 2022. However, large CMOs are expected to start a turnaround, led by Alzheimer's antibody treatments, ADCs,
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at seungyeon.han@nhqv.com -- Ed.On Sep 26, the share price of HanAll Biopharma partner Immunovant jumped by over 97% on surprise interim data from the IMVT-1402 phase I trial. Encouraging results were reported in terms of bot
Speculation is mounting that Hyundai Motor may follow the footsteps of Nissan, Renault, and Mazda, which withdrew from Russia under a “1 euro sale contract” that included a repurchase condition (buyback clause). Following the end of the war in Ukraine, the Russian government has suggested a buyback
As of the second quarter of this year, household and corporate debt has surged to approximately 2.26 times the nation’s economic size as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP). The Bank of Korea (BOK) has issued a warning emphasizing that the further expansion of private credit could potential
The KOSPI’s market capitalization, which had maintained the 2,000 trillion won (US$1.48 trillion) level since May, saw another sharp decline as it fell below 2,000 trillion won at the end of last month. The persisting “3 Highs” phenomenon – high interest rates, high oil prices, and a strong dollar –
The government has officially confirmed the decision to double penalties for stock price manipulation gains as fines starting from January next year. However, it has decided to exclude cases where the prosecution has raised investigation concerns. The Korea Exchange (KRX) has also decided to expand
The battery materials industry is facing a challenging period as the export prices of cathode materials, a critical component in secondary batteries, have dropped by more than 15 percent for the third quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter. This situation is exacerbated by the reducti
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at yk.choi@nhqv.com -- Ed.We view the tight supply situation in the refining industry as being structural. Although refining margins should stabilize after peaking out in 2Q23, they are exceeding historical averages, suggesti
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at hyon@shinhan.com -- Ed.3Q23 operating profit to miss consensus at KRW13.2bn (-28% QoQ)Doosan Tesna is expected to post operating profit of KRW13.2bn (-27.5% QoQ) on sales of KRW90.3bn (+1.5% QoQ) for 3Q23, falling short of the mar
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at soohong.cho@nhqv.com -- Ed.A change in business structure to electrification is expected at Hyundai Wia’s auto parts division on orders for thermal management parts. Elsewhere, having completed restructuring, the machinery
Despite the favorable prospects for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) driven by NVIDIA, concerns are rising as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continue to experience an upward trend in their inventory assets. The majority of this inventory consists of the older Double Data Rate (DDR) 4, making it challen
Concerns are being raised that the structure of South Korea’s economy is evolving into the “New Normal” characterized by low growth. This is due to the fact that our economy, heavily reliant on exports, is not recovering, primarily as a result of the sluggish Chinese economy. Furthermore, external c
Hyundai Securities said in a company analysis report on Samsung Life Insurance on Sept. 22 that Korea’s biggest life insurer is expected to continue to increase its dividends in the mid to long term as it needs to serve as a major source of funds for deferred payment of the large inheritance tax by