The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. For the first time since Feb 26, the Fed’s total asset amount declined last week. With the Fed appearing to believe that the financial and credit markets have stabilized, its policy focus is to shif
The Bank of Korea announced on June 19 that South Korea’s current account deficit with Japan dropped from US$24.7 billion to a five-year low of US$18.82 billion in 2019.According to the bank, this has to do with Japan’s export restrictions implemented in July last year to result in a decline in trad
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We believe that most of the temporary layoffs in the US are concentrated in the leisure, wholesale, and retail industries. A hotel room occupancy rate and retail business survey conducted in April i
Lotte Chemical has suspended the operation of nine plants following an explosion at its Daesan Complex in Daesan-eup, Seosan County, South Chungcheong Province, on March 4.“Around 3 a.m. in the morning, an explosion occurred at the naphtha cracking center (NCC) at Daesan Plant in Seosan,” Lotte Chem
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Dec. 1 that South Korea’s exports totaled US$44.1 billion in November this year, down 14.3 percent from a year ago to show a year-on-year decline for the 12th consecutive month.“External uncertainties such as U.S.-China trade disputes and the g
SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) announced on Oct. 25 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Energy Agency and the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan to renovate and modernize Mubarek Power Plant in Uzbekistan for about US$200 million.The project aims to modernize
Samsung Electronics Co. will provide its science research grants for the second half of this year to a total of 26 future technology R&D projects.The 26 projects included seven in basic science, 10 in materials science and nine in information communications technology (ICT).Samsung Science & Technol
Nongshim Co., South Korea's top instant noodle maker, is establishing its second factory in the United States by investing US$200 million (240 billion won), the largest investment since its founding. The company will start construction of the new plant early next year for completion at the end o
The operating profit of Samsung Electronics Co. in the semiconductor business stood at 3.40 trillion won (US$2.87 billion) in the second quarter of this year, the lowest in three years after recording 3.37 trillion won in the third quarter of 2016. The company’s operating margin fell to 21.13 percen
Korea’s exports are expected to fall below US$600 billion in one year.Korea’s exports would total US$566 billion in 2019, down 6.4 percent from 2018, the Korea International Trade Research Institute (KITRI) of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said in a report on June 27. Last year, K
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors announced on June 13 that they would invest in Aurora, a U.S. autonomous driving solution company, and push for the commercialization of its autonomous driving systems.Founded in the United States in 2017, Aurora is a leader in the development of autonomous driving solut
More and more Chinese auto parts are entering South Korea by taking advantage of the South Korea-China FTA, which became effective in December 2015. An increasing number of Chinese auto parts manufacturers are building manufacturing facilities in South Korea to increase their presence in the fully-b
Mirae Asset Daewoo announced on April 30 that it has succeeded in simultaneously issuing a U.S. dollar-denominated socially responsible investment (SRI) bond with a maturity of three years and a senior bond with a maturity of five years. The total value of the bonds is US$600 million and the three-y
SK Engineering & Construction will modernize an oil refinery in Uzbekistan which will produce the central Asian country’s first eco-friendly oil products.SK E&C announced on April 21 that it signed a US$600 million contract with UNG, a state-run oil and gas corporation of Uzbekistan, to modernize Bu
Taiwan's TSMC, the leader in the semiconductor foundry industry, recorded a market share of 48.1 percent in the first quarter of this year. It was a 2.7 percentage points drop from last year and TSMC’s lowest market share since 45.6 percent in 2012. On the other hand, Samsung Electronics increas
SK Group has made a massive equity investment in a Chinese company that designs semiconductors capable of recognizing objects. These artificial intelligence (AI)-based chips are used for autonomous vehicles.Industry sources and Reuters said on Feb. 28 that SK China and SK Hynix participated, along w
The Incheon Metropolitan City is one of the most dynamic cities in Korea. In 2017, its population surpassed 3 million and its gross regional domestic product (GDRP) ranked second among the nation's seven special and metropolitan cities. It beat Busan, the nation's second biggest city with a
Hyundai Motor has reached a provisional settlement in a class action suit filed by U.S. consumers to get compensation for damage from shattered panoramic sunroofs.These customers filed a class action lawsuit with the Federal District Court in Central California, the United States in December 2015, c
Korea’s exports have switched to a downturn in three months.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Jan. 1, exports totaled US$48.46 billion in December, a drop of 1.2 percent year on year.Korea’s exports surpassed US$50 billion for seven consecutive months from May to November before fal
South Korea`s annual exports surpassed US$600 billion for the first time.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Customs Service announced on Dec. 28 that the annual accumulated exports exceeded US$600 billion (671.34 trillion won).It is the first time in 70 years since Kore