The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) announced on Sept. 7 that it will provide a total of US$100 million (about 138.6 billion won) -- a loan of US$55 million and a guarantee of US$45 million -- to Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), a Chilean mineral producer.SQM is the world’
Hanwha Aerospace announced on Aug. 23 that it has signed a US$165 million contract with Vertical Aerospace of the United Kingdom to develop and supply actuators for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.The company will exclusively supply three types of electric actuators (control
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of US$469.21 billion in October last year, began to decrease then, and reached US$438.28 billion in June this year. The June figure is below the levels recommended by the BIS and the IMF. That month, they mentioned US$783.91 billion and US
Foreigners’ investment in Korean securities turned into a net inflow in July. During the same period, the won/dollar exchange rate rose and interest rates in major advanced countries plunged.Foreign investment in Korean stocks switched to a net inflow of US$160 million in July as investor sentiment
Corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute announced on Aug. 9 that the sales of South Korea’s top four business groups (Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor and LG) accounted for 19.9 percent of the sales of all South Korean corporations in the period of 2011 to 2020. It also said that the ratio is 30 percent and
Samsung Electronics has put forward a plan to invest about US$200 billion in the United States over the next 20 years. It is a large-scale investment plan that envisions building 11 new semiconductor production lines in Texas.The company submitted a tax benefit application to the Texas State Governm
The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Korea organized a webinar on July 20 to introduce the UAE's investment environment to potential Korean investors.The UAE-ROK Investment Forum at Grand Hyatt Seoul provided detailed information for each of the UAE's six priority sectors -- rese
Market research firm Omdia announced on July 13 that the average capacity utilization of global display panel manufacturers is predicted to fall from 70 percent to a 10-year low of 69 percent this month.The quarterly capacity utilization is continuing to fall, too. Specifically, the figure fell from
LG Chem is pushing for the issuance of foreign currency bonds worth up to US$1 billion. The company reportedly plans to use the raised funds to invest in carbon dioxide emissions reduction facilities and build production processes using eco-friendly raw materials.The company has recently selected Ba
The investor-state dispute (ISD) between the South Korean government and Lone Star Funds reached the end of the procedure on June 29 and the final conclusion is around the corner.Lone Star took over Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) in 2003 and sold it to Hana Bank in 2012 to get 4.7 trillion won. The dispu
HMM, the largest container carrier in South Korea, posted an operating profit of no less than 7.3775 trillion won last year, getting out of its 10-year slump at once. The state-run Korea Development Bank has been the owner of the company for six years, and the operating profit means that the bank
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Affected by macro factors, demand for IT devices is slowing. In particular, demand for smartphones is sluggish. Memory supply-demand improvement is likely to be delayed until early-2023. Supply limita
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Memory supply-demand improvement is likely to be delayed due to macroeconomic factors. Demand for smartphones and PCs is sluggish. Demand related to data center investment is likely to fall somewhat i
The embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Seoul announced on June 23 that it is participating in Imported Goods Fair 2022 (IGF 2022), which opened on the day at the COEX Convention Center for a three-day run, to promote various products from the Middle East country.UAE Ambassador to Korea Abd
Korean Air faces difficulties in getting approval from the U.S. competition authorities for its acquisition of Asiana Airlines.“The U.S. Justice Department strongly believes that a marriage between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will impose restrictions on fair competition, so the merger will face d
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at ys.jung@nhqv.com -- Ed. Despite setbacks in finished car production, Glovis’s earnings are being buoyed by rising non-vehicle logistics, favorable forex rates, and high freight rates. The energy transportation business, whi
Foreign investors have increased their investment in the South Korean bond market since the outbreak of COVID-19. These days, however, it is estimated to decrease as the advantage of the South Korean government bond yield is disappearing.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, their net bond
The three-year government bond yield rose 0.053 percentage point to 2.837 percent on April 4. It is the highest since June 9, 2014, when the yield was 2.84 percent. The yield has jumped no less than 1.04 percentage points since the beginning of this year.Likewise, the 10-year yield rose 0.058 percen
The yen-dollar exchange rate reached 120.4 yen per U.S. dollar at 16:00, March 22, the highest since Feb. 1, 2016. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the value of the yen has fallen 4.7 percent or so. On the other hand, a strong dollar has continued, and the yuan has moved sideways si
South Korean shipbuilders are facing a serious shortage of workers. This is because they have gone through a 10-year slump and a large number of skilled workers left the companies in that period.Last year, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed new contracts adding up to US$25.1 billion to