Korean companies are reportedly planning to issue about 15 trillion won (US$12.56 billion) worth of corporate bonds by the end of this year. The corporate bond issue market is likely to pick up after faltering for a while due to a deepening economic slump.Twelve companies, including SK Securities Co
SK Telecom and Ericsson announced on Sep. 15 that they succeeded in the first 5G standalone (SA) data communications in South Korea. This type of communications can be defined as communications using nothing but pure 5G systems such as 5G SA terminals, base stations and core equipment. “We succeeded
Paul Krugman, professor of economics at the City University of New York, said on Sept. 9 that the ongoing trade war between the United States and China may lead to a Chinese economic crisis and any escalation of the trade war may become a tipping point for China.The South Korean economy takes a dire
The Woori Finance Research Institute released on Sept. 10 a report on localization of industrial materials, components and equipment imported from Japan. It has found that six of the seven items it reviewed can be replaced with domestically developed ones within two to three years. Korea's impor
Korean semiconductor wafer maker SK Siltron has acquired the silicon carbide (SiC) wafer business of DuPont.SK Siltron announced on Sept. 10 that its board of directors has approved a plan to take over DuPont’s SiC wafer business for US$450 million. SK Siltron plans to finalize the acquisition proce
Private equity funds (PEFs) are dominating the South Korean merger and acquisition (M&A) market. This is because a large amount of money which was unable to find suitable investment destinations is flowing into PEFs, while strategic investors, including conglomerates, are reluctant to make a large i
The steel and semiconductor industries of South Korea will take a direct hit if the trade war between the United States and China turns into a global tariff war, panelists said at a seminar organized by the Federation of Korean Industries on Sept. 9.The experts said the ongoing trade war between the
The number of management participation-type private equity funds (PEFs) surpassed 600 this year, with total capital commitments exceeding 80 trillion won (US$67.06 billion).The number of PEFs stood at 636 as of the end of June this year, up 53 from 583 at the end of last year, according to the Finan
With the labor union of GM Korea going on its first full-fledged strike in 22 years, the labor and management at Renault Samsung Motors are at loggerheads over voluntary retirements. At Renault Samsung, downsizing is inevitable due to reduced production, but its unionists are expected to make all-ou
A number of research institutions in South Korea are actively conducting research and development on next-generation solar cells, heightening expectations for commercialization.Global investment in renewable energy production capacities came to US$2.60 trillion (3,103.36 trillion won) during the dec
Chinese companies are rapidly increasing their presence in the 8K TV and 5G smartphone markets. With the U.S.-China trade war going on, they are concentrating on European markets.This year’s IFA, the largest consumer electronics show in Europe, kicked off in Berlin on Sept. 6. There, Chinese smartph
The war over the 8K TV image quality is intensifying between South Korea’s two electronics giants Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. LG Electronics claimed that Samsung Electronics’ 8K TV does not meet industry standards. Samsung Electronics dismissed the claim, saying, “That is an absu
SK Telecom will partner with Samsung Electronics to develop and commercialize the world's first 5G-based 8K TV services. 8K ultra-high definition (UHD) has the horizontal resolution of 7680 pixels and the vertical resolution of 4320 pixels, four times as many pixels as 4K UHD.SK Telecom plans to
As the Moon Jae-in government has been pushing for chaebol reforms and strengthening regulations on corporate governance reforms after taking office, the number of cross-holding links among affiliates of conglomerates has decreased sharply. The number of companies subject to regulations designed to
SK Telecom has presented a new vision based on three key initiatives – expansion of the 5G business models, strengthening global partnerships and transformation into a unique ICT synergy company.The new vision was unveiled by the company’s president Park Jung-ho at an analyst seminar held at the Ann
SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s leading mobile carrier, and U.S. tech giant Microsoft Corp. have joined forces to launch a cloud-based game streaming service running on 5G network. Based on the partnership, SK Telecom can secure 5G-based killer services and Microsoft can secure the leadership in the g
The Korean government is actively moving behind the scenes to stop a battery war between LG Chem and SK Innovation. LG Chem filed a complaint against SK Innovation with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in April for encroaching upon its battery trade secrets and SK Innovation recently sa
Silicon Works, a fabless company of LG Group, is considering ways to cooperate with Samsung Electronics. When Samsung Electronics announced the Semiconductor Vision 2030 in late April, it said it would actively support small and medium-sized fabless companies in Korea. Accordingly, Silicon Works is
Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra recently visited China and both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are feeling uneasy. This is because a closer relationship between Chinese semiconductor companies and Micron Technology, one of the world’s three largest memory chip manufacturers, is likely to adv
Samsung Electronics has begun to use for semiconductor production hydrogen fluoride that a South Korean company supplied based on raw materials imported from China and Taiwan. Hydrogen fluoride is a key element for semiconductor chip production and display cleaning.“We began to use non-Japanese hydr