Following their competition in integrated washing and drying machines, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are now launching AI TVs, sparking another pride battle. On-device AI, which operates AI within the device without a network connection, is rapidly spreading to TVs.On March 13, Samsung Elec
Even after surpassing the “psychological resistance level” of 100 million won, bitcoin continues its upward trend in the domestic market.In particular, a phenomenon known as the “kimchi premium” is observed, where the price of bitcoin in the domestic market is forming higher than that in the U.S. ma
South Korean shipyards are continuously winning contracts for very large crude carriers (VLCCs). Recently, Hanwha Ocean and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HKSOE) have pursued high-value contracts for VLCCs as part of their strategy to diversify their vessel portfolios and prioritize s
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.We believe that Samsung Life will boast the most visible and active shareholder return among major insurance plays. However, with such expectations already partially reflected, the firm’s share price
LG Chem, Korea’s largest petrochemical company, will shut down its styrene monomer (SM) plant at the end of March. SM is widely used in the manufacture of various petrochemical products. The company is also reportedly considering abandoning production of ethylene oxide (EO) and ethylene glycol (EG),
Coupang announced on March 11 that it has expanded its “Rocket Direct Purchase” service to Japan. The company has been expanding its direct purchase regions, starting from the United States in 2017, followed by China in 2021 and Hong Kong in 2022.Coupang’s decision to add Japan to its Rocket Direct
After a period of downturn due to economic slowdown and weak demand for IT devices, the display industry is on the verge of a significant rebound. The surge in demand for Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)-based displays for laptops and tablets, driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, is a
Coupang announced on March 11 that it will launch the Rocket Cross-Border Shopping Service in the cross-border shopping of goods from Japan, after the United States, China, and Hong Kong.Rocket Direct is a cross-border shopping service provided by Coupang. Coupang has been expanding its service for
South Korea’s current account remained in surplus for the ninth consecutive month thanks to strong semiconductor and automobile exports.According to provisional statistics on the balance of payments released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on March 8, the nation’s current account surplus stood at US$3.05
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) intends to initiate an investigation into Temu and Shein, following its inquiry into AliExpress, the leading online shopping platform in China, regarding potential consumer harm.This comes as the indiscriminate onslaught of Chinese online shopping malls, levera
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
Korean shipbuilders overtook China in terms of ship order intake in February to take the number one spot in the global market.According to Clarkson Research, a British shipbuilding and shipping market analysis firm, global ship orders totaled 3.4 million CGT (100 ships) in February, of which Korea w
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
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
Hanwha Foodtech, which is led by Hanwha Hotel & Resort Vice President Kim Dong-seon, the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, has acquired U.S.-based robot pizza brand “Stellar Pizza.”In January, Hanwha Foodtech signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Serve Automation, the pare
The Korean government has set a higher plant order intake target for this year than 2023 and will provide intensive support to help Korean plant builders attain the goal. This is because the global plant market is expected to grow and Korean companies’ order-taking competitiveness has been strengthe
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at hzl.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.Excluding losses at YG Investment, YG Ent’s 4Q23 results met our expectations. BabyMonster’s first debut album, which is to feature the return of main member Ahyeon, is to be released on Apr 1. We e
The battery industry is set to unveil a bunch of new technologies at Interbattery 2024, Korea’s largest secondary battery industry show.LG Energy Solution will take the wraps off its cell to pack (CTP) product at InterBattery 2024 which will run from Feb. 6 to 8 at COEX in Seoul.Cell-to-pack technol
Following last year’s memory semiconductor downturn, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are aggressively increasing their focus on DRAM through the expansion of advanced processing. This move is anticipated due to the expected rise in orders for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and Double Data Rate 5 (DDR5