The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.The US aims to stabilize inflation and defend against a recession through a combination of aggressive Fed tightening and fiscal stimulus. However, real interest rates have converged with potential gr
Starting from the second quarter, major companies are showing a preference for bank loans as a means of fundraising over issuing corporate bonds. This trend is emerging as the interest rates for bank loans do not significantly differ from the interest rates for corporate bond issuance. With expectat
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com -- Ed.Kiwoom Securities opted to reflect CFD provisioning in one swoop, relieving short-term burden. With retail investors continuing to trade briskly in 2H23, related profits should expand in 3Q23. With
Ahead of the government's legislation on security tokens (hereinafter referred to as STO), the related industries are experiencing an acceleration in their movement.According to a media report in Busan, it has been revealed that Aiitone (CEO Jin Yeop Lee), a company listed on KOSDAQ is joining a
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com -- Ed.Steep rate hikes and reduced bond issuance accelerate yield curve inversionA surge in short-term yields caused by steep base rate hikes is the first reason why we are seeing a sharper yield curve inversion
During the middle of July, South Korea witnessed a consecutive two-month rise in its foreign exchange reserves, reflecting an increase of US$350 million. This surge can be attributed to the upward valuation of foreign currency assets against the backdrop of a weakened U.S. dollar, particularly again
The recent downgrade of the United States credit rating by Fitch due to fiscal deficits and government debt holds important lessons for South Korea, which finds itself grappling with an inability to break free from the addiction to expanding its fiscal measures. Under the stewardship of the Moon Jae
HANMI Semiconductor announced on Aug. 2 that it has commenced operation of the “Bonder Factory” to enhance the production capacity of the Dual TC Bonder, an essential piece of equipment for the production process of AI semiconductor wideband memory (HBM).The Bonder Factory has been established in Pl
Eight domestic insurance companies invested more than 400 billion won (US$312.74 million) in the construction of the world’s largest biomass power plant in the U.K. However, due to delays in construction and operation, they had to write off over half of the invested funds, resulting in significant l
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.In 1H23, the US FF rate (r) was lower than r* and higher than r**. With the July hike, we believe that r has converged to the r* level. Over time, markets should come gradually to reflect the Fed'
The difference in interest rates between Korea and the United States, which has reached 2 percentage points for the first time in history, is expected to continue for quite some time. However, the Korean foreign exchange market has been calm, starting at a low point in early trading despite concerns
In the first six months of this year, the net issuance of Korean Paper denominated in foreign currencies by domestic residents, excluding the government, amounted to US$13.3 billion. This marks a significant increase compared to the previous year’s annual net issuance of US$11.4 billion. Furthermore
Korea Development Bank (KDB) is set to start the process of selling its controlling stake in HMM, a deal that is anticipated to be one of the largest M&A transactions in the market, possibly worth up to 5 trillion won.KDB Bank announced on July 20 that they have issued a public competitive bid for t
The long-awaited process of selling HMM, considered a major player in the merger and acquisition (M&A) market with an estimated value of up to 5 trillion won (US$3.91 billion), has officially commenced.On July 20, the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC) iss
A 600 billion won investment into American logistics centers by CJ Logistics is being highlighted as a positive case of Korea-US partnership.According to CJ Logistics, Ellen Park, a New Jersey State Assemblywoman, mentioned on her Facebook page on July 17 (local time) that “CJ Logistics’ New Jersey
SK hynix, the developer of the world’s first 12-layer HBM3 product, is targeting to double the sales of high bandwidth memory (HBM) and double data rate (DDR) 5, essential components for AI servers, next year.According to industry sources on July 20, at a recent private corporate briefing (IR) for m
At Nano Tech Day 2023 held on July 20 at Community House Masil in Seoul, a team from the Hyundai-Kia Basic Materials Research Center unwrapped a transparent solar cell that can lower reliance on electric vehicle batteries and eventually enable battery-free driving.The transparent solar cell was one
The financial authorities are significantly easing restrictions on overseas subsidiary investment and capital support to activate overseas expansion of domestic financial companies. Consequently, domestic banks will have looser restrictions on investing in foreign non-financial companies, and insura
The former CEO and several employees of TopTec who sold Samsung Display’s edge panel technology to China, have been convicted. The leaked 3D Lamination technology is used to manufacture edge panels, also known as “edge designs,” smartphone displays designed to curve at the edge.The Supreme Court tod
LG Chem announced on July 12 that it has completed the issuance of US$2 billion worth of foreign currency exchangeable bonds (EBs).The previous day’s demand collection to investors in Asia and Europe attracted more than US$10 billion from more than 150 investors and institutions. The amount was more