The author is an analyist for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.HGI’s 2023 dividend announcement fell somewhat short of market expectations. However, if sufficient profits available for dividend are secured through system improvements, an expansion of shareholder
Lotte Chemical is reportedly considering the sale of its Malaysian subsidiary Lotte Chemical Titan (LC Titan).According to industry sources on Mar. 6, Lotte Chemical is searching for potential buyers for LC Titan, including Korean and foreign petrochemical companies and large private equity funds (P
Last quarter, the global semiconductor industry witnessed a nearly 30% increase in DRAM revenue compared to the previous quarter. According to TrendForce, a market research firm based in Taiwan, on March 5, global DRAM revenue reached US$17.46 billion in the fourth quarter, marking a 29.6% growth fr
HLB disclosed on March 4 that its board of directors has approved the issuance of 60 billion won in convertible bonds to domestic private equity funds and others. The primary purpose of this fundraising is to secure operational funds. Although the company currently holds over 65 billion won in cash
The former chief technology officer (CTO) of Kakao Bank, who sparked controversy by exercising stock options worth some 7 billion won (US$5.25 million) immediately after Kakao Bank’s listing, has been nominated as the new CTO of Kakao.According to the IT industry on March 4, it has been reported tha
SK D&D, the real estate development arm of SK Group, announced on March 4 that it held a board meeting and completed its spin-off into two entities: SK D&D and SK eternix.As a result of the spin-off, SK D&D will focus on real estate operations, while SK eternix will specialize in renewable energySK
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at bk@nhqv.com -- Ed.Global stock markets have rallied of late, with the S&P500 surging for four months in a row. In February, the Kospi has outperformed other major markets. But, the fast market growth is likely to bolster p
Woori Financial Group has established a strategic partnership with Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), between their respective subsidiaries.According to sources in the financial sector on Feb. 28, Woori Venture Partners, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, sign
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.From now forward, we believe that the key to determining the value of financial sector plays is to be the existence of specific shareholder return policies and the market's level of trust in them.Boos
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at youngryu@nhqv.com -- Ed.Micron begins mass production of HBM3EMicron has kicked off full-scale production of HBM3E (24GB 8-high) to be used for Nvidia’s H200, which is scheduled to be shipped from 2Q24. The company has als
Mirae Asset Securities announced on Feb. 27 that the number of its retail customer accounts in India has exceeded 1 million.After the launch of the online trading platform “m.Stock” in April 2022, the Indian unit of Mirae Asset Securities has rapidly ascended in the rankings within the local online
Starbucks Korea has halted sales of its sparkling water Perrier following a quality control controversy.Starbucks Korea announced on Feb. 26 that it has preemptively suspended sales of Perrier from Feb. 1 following quality control issues raised by the brand’s overseas manufacturer.Perrier is a spark
Foreign investors who invest in domestic stocks and bonds will see significant improvements in the complex foreign exchange procedures they have faced so far. It is expected that the accessibility of foreign investors to the domestic market and the Korean won will improve.The Bank of Korea and the M
The government has extended its support to companies starting businesses overseas, aiming to increase the number of successful Korean startups in the global market. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that amendments to the “Act on Support for Small and Medium Enterprise Establishment” and i
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is planning to broaden the range of corporate disclosures accessible to foreign investors in real-time and to introduce a new service exclusively in English called “English Open DART” by the end of the year.On Feb. 18, the FSS announced the road map for improv
Five activist funds, including City of London Investment Management, have initiated demands for Samsung C&T to retire its treasury stocks and increase dividends.With the combined stake of the five funds amounting to less than 1.5 percent, the likelihood of Samsung C&T accepting their demands is low.
Global private equity fund (PEF) Carlyle Group will sell a 1.2 percent stake in KB Financial Group in a block deal worth about 32 billion won.According to sources in the investment banking (IB) industry on Feb. 14, Carlyle Group made a demand forecast after the close of the market to push forward th
It has been revealed that the National Pension Service (NPS) achieved a return on investment of over 40 percent through its investments in U.S. stocks last year. This is attributed to the historical bull market recorded in the U.S. stock market.According to the stockholding report (13F) submitted by
Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems announced on Feb. 13 that they signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the defense industry with the Saudi Ministry of National Defense during the World Defense Show 2024, a comprehensive defense exhibition in the Middle East held
According to industry sources on Feb. 12, Hanwha Impact, an affiliate of Hanwha Group, recently received final approval for a merger related to the acquisition of HSD Engine from the Korea Fair Trade Commission. This came one year after the company signed a memorandum of understanding for a stock pu