The South Korean government has decided to join the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The decision reflects Korea's intention to take a leading role in regional trade as an initial member of the framework.The official announcement is anticipated late this month, immediately after
Hanmi Pharmaceutical's innovative new drug for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has won a Fast Track designation from the U.S. FDA. The new drug, HM43239, was licensed out to Aptose, a U.S. biotech company listed on the NASDAQ, in November 2021.“The FDA’s Fast Track designation is a recognition of t
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at ys.jung@nhqv.com -- Ed. International passenger demand is recovering in earnest, and cargo business remains solid. As transportation capacity (supply) recovery is proving slower than demand rebound, freight rates should rem
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. At SK Gas, 1Q22 earnings improvement was driven by strong LPG trading gains. In 2025, profits should level up for the firm on smooth sailing at the Ulsan GPS and KET businesses. Contrary to conce
LS EV Korea, an electric vehicle (EV) parts producer established by LS Group in 2017, has completed a plant in Gunpo City in Gyeonggi Province.A completion ceremony was held at the LS Knowledge Industry Center in Dangjeong-dong, Gunpo City on May 9. LS Group chairman Koo Ja-eun emphasized that EV pa
LG Chem and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have developed a process to make plastic raw materials with carbon dioxide in the air.LG Chem announced on May 9 that it has developed, through collaboration with KIST, an electrochemical conversion reactor that can boost the efficienc
Reuters reported on May 9 (local time) that Hyundai Motor Group is in talks with officials in Georgia to build a new electric vehicle (EV) plant in the U.S. state.Currently, a Kia Corp. plant is in operation in Georgia, and Hyundai Motor Co. has a plant in neighboring Alabama. These two factories pr
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. She can be reached at inhae.ji@shinhan.com. -- Ed. 1Q22 results disappoint with operating loss reaching KRW31.8bnContentreeJoongAng registered an operating loss of KRW31.8bn on sales of KRW135.6bn (+13% YoY) for 1Q22, coming in short of market exp
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jk.lim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Prospect of KRW30tn supplementary budget already reflected in KTB; supply-demand uncertainty to gradually recedeWe believe uncertainty over supplementary budgets, which has triggered a rise in KTB yield since ear
Samsung Electronics will develop a 200-megapixel smartphone camera, the highest level among smartphone cameras. It is expected to be used for the Galaxy S23, which is scheduled to come out next year.The development of a 200-megapixel smartphone camera by Samsung Electronics’ Wireless Business Divisi
The number of members of the National Samsung Electronics Union under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the largest of the four unions in Samsung Electronics, topped 6,000 last week. The number increased by more than 50 percent from 4,000 or so this year. The ratio of the number to the total em
Shinhan Financial Group announced on May 8 that British Minister for Pacific and the Environment Lord Zac Goldsmith and British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks visited itself on May 6 and they discussed the role of private financial companies in dealing with climate and biodiversity issues.At
Korea Midland Power (KOMIPO) announced on May 8 that it has recently completed a wind power plant in Stavro, Sweden.A consortium consisting of Korean and German companies built a 254.2 MW wind farm in Westernorland, central Sweden, by investing a total of 383 billion won.KOMIPO has become the first
Market research firm Omdia said on May 8 that this year’s global TV shipments are estimated at 211.639 million units, the smallest since 2010 and about 1.89 million units less than last year’s.This is because COVID-19 is subsiding and inflation is continuing in the United States and Europe. The Q1 d
South Korean oil refining companies’ capacity utilization has been raised to about 100 percent with a very high refining margin continuing with regard to international political instabilities.According to industry sources, SK Energy recently raised its capacity utilization to over 95 percent, the hi
The South Korean government is planning to announce this year’s second supplementary budget plan on May 13. The size is estimated at 35 trillion won. The government is going against the fiscal normalization trend of advanced economies.According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea In
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at cygun101@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Sharp increase in IB commission income, stronger-than-expected trading income — KIH reported 1Q22 NP (attributable to controlling interests) of KRW307.6bn, which is 21.2% above our estimate and 11.2% above the
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. She can be reached at inhae.ji@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Japan accounted for a large portion of inbound/outbound travel before the pandemicJapan plays a key role in Korea’s tourism/leisure industry as the starting point of the global fandom for K-pop an
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at ys.jung@nhqv.com -- Ed. Freight rates are continuing to hold strong, and passenger load factor is now expected to recover in earnest from 2Q22. On the non-operating side, KAL’s situation has improved significantly on a decl
The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), an institute under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and ICT, has signed memorandum of understandings with representative research institutes in Germany and Lithuania.On May 9, KIMM signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) focusing o