The global leading automotive company Toyota, which has been embroiled in a “quality certification fraud” scandal, announced a record-breaking net profit of 4.5 trillion yen, equivalent to 40.2 trillion won or US$30.28 billion, for the fiscal year 2023, spanning from April 2023 to March 2024. The pr
The Korea Exchange (KRX) announced on Feb. 6 that it will open the “30-Year Treasury Futures Market” from Feb. 19 to promote the advancement of the government bond market and hedge against risks from long-term interest rate fluctuations. This marks the first time in 16 years since the introduction o
For the third year in a row since 2020, HL Mando changed the first digit of its annual sales figure, ushering in the era of 8 trillion won in sales.HL Mando announced on Feb. 5 that its sales increased 11.7 percent from the previous year to 8.3930 trillion won (US$6.3255 billion) and its operating p
Samsung Electronics has partially halted the construction of its fifth semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.According to industry sources on Feb. 1, Samsung C&T sent a notice to some subcontractors at the construction site of the fifth plant on Jan. 30, stating that “due to the circu
Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Aerospace presented their state-of-the-art defense technologies to Dr. David Perry, President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI), who visited Hanwha facilities from January 23-24. The CGAI is recognized as Canada’s leading source of expertise on global affairs an
Kia Corp.’s market capitalization has outstripped Hyundai Motor’s. The automaker’s record-breaking earnings and strong shareholder return policy paid off handsomely, stock market experts say. Some of them believe that there is a remaining upside as the price-to-earnings ratio (PBR) is still below 1x
Korean Air has received approval for its merger with Asiana Airlines from Japan’s competition regulator, facing the final hurdle in its quest to become Korea’s megacarrier.The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), Japan’s competition authority, approved the merger of Korean Air and Asiana on Jan. 31.T
South Korean trading firm SK Networks is joining hands with the Bow Capital, the U.S.-based venture capital firm, to pursue a transformation into an investment company focused on the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.SK Networks announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. She can be reached at hpark@shinhan.com -- Ed.4Q23 OP falls short due to inventory adjustments at distributorsAmorepacific posted consolidated operating profit of KRW20.7bn (-64% YoY) on sales of KRW926bn (-15% YoY) for 4Q23, missing our estimate (KRW
LG Electronics has maintained its position as the world’s number one home appliance manufacturer for the second consecutive year, surpassing American competitor Whirlpool. On Jan. 30, Whirlpool reported annual revenues of US$19.455 billion and an operating profit of US$1.015 billion for the past yea
Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Aerospace presented their state-of-the-art defense technologies to Dr. David Perry, President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI). The CGAI is recognized as Canada’s leading source of expertise on global affairs and Dr. Perry’s visit is timely as Hanwha is laying
Japan’s Sony Group has surpassed Samsung Electronics in operating profit for the first time in 24 years. Just 14 years ago, the combined operating profit of nine major Japanese electronics companies did not even reach half of Samsung Electronics’. With Sony’s strong performance last year, however, i
Samsung Electronics is set to launch its new Galaxy S24 series in China, featuring “Erniebot,” an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Baidu as a response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.According to foreign media reports on Jan. 29 (local time), Baidu announced that Samsung Electronics will utiliz
Four labor unions representing Samsung affiliates, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and Samsung Biologics, will merge to form a consolidated labor union. The launch of this mega labor union is scheduled for the end of this month. The establishment of t
At the beginning of this year, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, the world’s largest consumer electronics and IT exhibition, brought into focus the trend of “on-device AI,” or artificial intelligence operating within the device. The emergence of devices equipped with this technology is injec
As international oil prices and refining margins both experienced a simultaneous decline in the fourth quarter of last year, the oil industry’s performance was once again placed in a state of emergency.In the worst-case scenario, four major oil companies -- SK Energy, GS Caltex, S-Oil, and HD Hyunda
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and a key figure in the global spread of generative AI sparked by ChatGPT, is visiting South Korea on Jan. 26. This visit follows his recent proposal to shake up the industry with the establishment of a global AI semiconductor production network.According to the semicon
SK hynix announced on Jan. 25 that it plans to more than double the production capacity of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) this year compared to the previous year. This move is part of the company’s strategy to capture the new demand from artificial intelligence (AI) applications.This shows the confiden
In 2023, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corp. racked up more operating profit than Samsung Electronics, the country’s No. 1 company by market capitalization. The two automakers also posted a double-digit operating profit margin, higher than the company Tesla that is leading a global electric car boom
SK hynix Inc. announced today that it recorded an operating profit of 346 billion won (US$259 million) in the fourth quarter of last year amid a recovery of the memory chip market, marking the first quarter of profit following four straight quarters of losses.The company posted revenues of 11.31 tri