The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.Adhering to a Buy rating, we raise our TP to W310,000 for HYBE, our sector top pick. In addition to ongoing solid quarterly earnings thanks to its successful multi-label system, HYBE’s status as a pl
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at sokang@shinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 preview: Update effects and cost reductionDevsisters is expected to have recorded operating income of KRW49.6bn(-18.3% YoY, +1.2% QoQ) and operating loss of KRW6.1bn (TR YoY, RR QoQ, operating margin o
The foreign currency debts of LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI are increasing rapidly due to their multiple overseas plant construction projects.Specifically, that of LG Energy Solution was 9.5392 trillion won (US$7.2615 billion) at the end of last year, when those of Samsung SDI and SK On
KPOP 4 Planet, a K-pop fan club in Indonesia, is accusing Hyundai of greenwashing, a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly. They have
The entire 20 percent stake in Companhia Siderurgica do Pecem (CSP) held by POSCO Holdings will be transferred to ArcelorMittal Brazil, a Dutch steel company.In a business report released on March 9, POSCO Holdings announced the sale of its stake in CSP, saying, “We are trying to boost our asset eff
Korea Development Bank (KDB) has begun the process of selling management rights to HMM, an oceangoing Korean shipping company. It is seven years since the state-run bank took over the management rights to the company in a liquidity crisis from Hyundai Group in 2016.KDB announced on March 2 that it w
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. She can be reached at leesunhwa@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Raise target price from KRW170,000 to KRW230,000; maintain BUY We raise our TP by 35.3% from KRW170,000 to KRW230,000 and maintain BUY on HYBE. We revise up 2023E/2024E OP by 12.2%/13.7% to reflect the compan
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed.HYBE’s girl group NewJeans looks set to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart—a feat which signifies undeniable robust fandom in combination with measurable popularity in the West. At HYBE, the absence
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Despite being a mid-sized brokerage, Daishin Securities attracted investors’ attention over the past few years, thanks to its: 1) large-scale real estate-related gains; and 2) high DY. However, ami
The author is a fixed income strategist of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Inflation drivers shifting to cost, raising doubts over further tighteningThe Bank of Korea (BOK), at the press conference held on December 20 after the review of its inflation targeting op
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Securities. They can be reached at sokang@shinhan.com and dongseok.kim@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Review of The Callisto ProtocolThe Callisto Protocol was released on December 2 for PC (Steam), Xbox, and PlayStation. The game, focusing mainly on following t
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently analyzed 674 non-large listed manufacturers and announced on Dec. 19 that their operating profit increased 3.9 percent from September last year to the same month of this year.“In that period, their interest cost jumped 20.3 percent and total liabil
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Dec. 15 that South Korea’s public-sector debt increased from 1,280 trillion won to an all-time high of 1,427.3 trillion won in 2021.The amount, which is the sum of central government, local government, and public enterprise debts, was slightly over 1,
SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group, plans to increase the net asset value (NAV) of the group's green business by 14 times within eight years. The company intends to use the group's efforts to overcome climate change as an opportunity to expand its future business.SK Inc.'s Green In
Spotify - the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service - released its annual Wrapped campaign this year, unveiling a series of data on how fans worldwide listened this year. And as part of the 2022 Wrapped, Spotify also disclosed how the world listened to the K-pop genre specificall
The borrowings of SK Hynix totaled 22.0214 trillion won at the end of the third quarter to top 20 trillion won for the first time in its history. The borrowings topped 10 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2019 and then more than doubled in less than three years.From January to September, the com
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, individuals must satisfy their lower-level needs first before progressing on towards higher-level goals (ie, one must secure food before catering to taste)
Jiangsu Yueda Kia, Kia Corp.'s subsidiary in China, fell into a state of complete capital impairment at the end of the third quarter of this year. The company is in a dire need to receive support funds again in nine months since its first complete capital erosion at the end of 2021. Analysts say
Lotte Engineering & Construction (Lotte E&C), which is suffering a liquidity crisis, has received 1.1 trillion won in financial support from its sister companies over a period of one month.The construction arm of Lotte Group normally financed its real estate projects through asset-backed commercial
South Korean enterprises’ debts are increasing rapidly with their corporate bond market shrinking fast. Their repayment capabilities are deteriorating amid high interest rates, inflation and economic slowdown. The number of companies with an interest coverage ratio of less than 1 is likely to increa