Mirae Asset Group has decided to acquire International Finance Center (IFC) Seoul in the Yeouido financial district in Seoul for 4.1 trillion won, beating Aegis Asset Management and Shinsegae Consortium.Currently, IFC Seoul is owned by Brookfield Asset Management, a Canadian real estate investment c
Pernod Ricard Korea's leading premium vodka ABSOLUT announced on May 12 that it will release its new campaign "Born to Mix – Harmonizing Through ABSOLUT" campaign video.The campaign emphasizes the harmony of various people and cultures beyond the simple mixing of ABSOLUT Vodka and drinks. It con
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at jinmyung.lee93@shinhan.com and cgh815@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. 1Q22 OP exceeds consensus at KRW133bn (+34% QoQ)SKC posted operating profit of KRW133bn (+34% QoQ) for 1Q22, exceeding the consensus estimate of KRW126.
The Bank of Korea announced on May 10 that South Korea recorded a current account surplus of US$6.73 billion in March this year and remained in the black for the 23rd consecutive month, and the surplus decreased by US$770 million compared to the same month of the previous year.The goods account surp
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Presidential transition committee’s housing policy proposalsThe presidential transition committee, which was launched in March following the presidential election, has been actively communicating
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. She can be reached at shinay.park@kbfg.com. -- Ed.Maintain BUY, raise target price to KRW220,000 We maintain BUY on BGF Retail and slightly raise our TP by 2% to KRW220,000 to reflect upward revisions to 2022E/2023E OP by 4%/1%. While operating conditions s
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. She can be reached at leesunhwa@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY, raise target price 6.4% from KRW470,000 to KRW500,000 We maintain BUY on CJCJ but raise our TP by 6.4% (KRW470,000→KRW500,000). Chinese pig feed prices should stay elevated this year on the glob
The author is a fixed income strategist of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Heightened inflation expectations and solid growth outlook to justify BOK’s rate rise in MayA back-to-back rate hike in May looks likely in view of high inflation expectations and shor
Park Hyatt Busan’s Lounge presents a range of seasonal mango-themed refreshments and drinks - “Mango Afternoon Tea Set,” “Mango Festival” and “Apple Mango Bingsu.” The mango, rich in vitamins and features a sweet taste, soft texture and vibrant color, will rejuvenate you during the drowsy late sprin
In the smartphone market, Samsung Electronics quickly caught up with Apple with a fast-follower strategy. As a result, in terms of sales volume, Samsung has maintained the No. 1 spot since 2011. However, unlike Apple, which expanded into other smart devices, such as the iPad, the MacBook and the App
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers’ market share in their home turf is continuing to increase along with the use of LFP batteries, which are lower in performance but cheaper than NCM batteries. With an increasing number of automakers adopting LFP batteries, South Korean EV battery m
Hyundai Motor Co.’s domestic and overseas sales nosedived 11.6 percent year on year in April.The company said on May 2 that it sold a total of 308,788 units in the global market in April -- 59,415 units in Korea and 249,373 units abroad. This is a decrease of 11.6 percent compared to the same period
Pulmuone, one of Korea’s leading companies for wholesome foods, has sponsored the Global Plant-Forward Culinary Summit 2022 hosted by the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), one of the world's leading food research institutions, to showcase its sustainable, plant-oriented foods made with its to
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jack.baek@nhqv.com. -- Ed. In 1Q22, Golfzon logged its highest quarterly OP since its establishment on a significant jump in the number of franchise stores. In terms of sales, round fees should reach a record high in 2Q22 o
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at sanghoonpure.cho@shinhan.com. – Ed. Trailblazer in dawn delivery serviceKurly started off as an online grocery retailer in end-2014 and introduced the world’s first dawn delivery service in 2015. The company's dawn deliver
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at cm.lee@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY, target price of KRW830,000 We maintain BUY and TP of KRW830,000 on Samsung SDI. Our DCF-derived TP is based on 8.84% WACC (9.96% COE; 2.84% after-tax COD; 1.12 104w adj. beta), implies 35.0x 12m fwd
The police have arrested a Woori Bank employee for embezzling 61.4 billion won.The bank has recently found in an internal audit that the employee, who handles corporate workouts, embezzled company money. It reported the case to the police on the evening of April 27.The embezzled money was part of a
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minwoo.ju@nhqv.com. -- Ed. With H&A and HE profitability to be languid for now, company-wide earnings are to be affected. But, considering current valuations, we view this issue as already being largely baked into LGE’s cur
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at will.byun@nhqv.com. -- Ed. POSCO Holdings’ 1Q22 results greatly exceeded consensus thanks to the sound performance of non-steel subsidiaries. While steel price hikes are positive, there is the possibility of a slowdown in s