POSCO Chemical announced on June 15 that it is set to start commercial production of NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum) anode material for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.Anode materials are key materials for next-generation EV batteries. They play the biggest role in enhancing the capac
The South Korean government is planning to provide a financial assistance of more than 15 trillion won for companies participating in 30 important international tenders worth a total of US$100 billion. In addition, it is going to halve the periods required for relevant preliminary feasibility studie
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at newday@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Expectation of IPO for SK BiopharmSK Holdings stock skyrocketed 16.5% (as of 10:50 a.m.) on expectations of an IPO for SK Biopharm. Last month, the wholly owned subsidiary submitted a stock registration statement
The authors are analysts of NH Investment & Securities. They can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. At the June FOMC meeting, the Fed voiced caution over expectations for a V-shaped recovery. Also noteworthy, overnight and one-month repo rates will be hiked from Jun 16. In our view, the Fed is c
A team of Korean researchers has developed a deep blue-emitting phosphorescent OLED which is four times more efficient than OLEDs that use fluorescent materials.The Korea Research Foundation announced on June 14 that a research team led by Jin Sung-ho, a professor at Busan National University, has d
SsangYong Motor's Indian parent company Mahindra & Mahindra has reaffirmed its intention to give up control of its ailing Korean subsidiary."Ssangyong Motor needs a new investor,” said Pawan Goenka, managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra and chairman of the board of directors of SsangYong Moto
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors expanded their combined market share in the first quarter of 2020 when global automakers faced a sales cliff in the aftermath of the new coronavirus outbreak.Hyundai and Kia saw their combined market share expand in five of the world’s seven major overseas automobile mar
Samsung Electronics narrowed its market share gap with Taiwan's TSMC in the global foundry market in the second quarter of 2020, according to market research firm TrendForce.Samsung's market share reached 18.8 percent in the second quarter, up 2.9 percentage points from the previous quarter.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on June 14 that it is going to establish a fund for hydrogen economy development.The fund will be run as a part of the government’s 505 billion won New Energy Industry Fund launched in 2016. The size of the fund is estimated at 34 billion won or m
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at joonsop.analyst@kbfg.com. -- Ed. On June 12, the Ministry of Science and ICT cleared SKT to phase out its 2G services, provided that 2G service users are catered to in the process. According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, the following fa
Hyundai Motor Co. and ELEKTRA have launched a collaborative art exhibition, “HYUNDAI X ELEKTRA: METAMORPHOSIS,” which highlights creative ways of imagining individual and societal transformations in a post-pandemic world. The exhibition at Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul runs from June 15 to Sept. 20. It
Samsung Electronics has released the 2020 edition of its Sustainability Report. The latest version of the report, which has been published annually since 2008, offers a comprehensive look at the outcomes of corporate sustainability management activities that took place throughout 2019.With the relea
The South Korean government has decided to lower reinsurance market entry barriers for more competition.The current Insurance Business Act regards reinsurance as a part of non-life insurance. As such, the same regulations are applied to both despite the fact that reinsurance is different from car in
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at seongjin.kang@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Downgrade to HOLD but maintain target price of KRW25,000We maintain our TP for Hankook Tire & Technology at KRW25,000 but downgrade our rating from BUY to HOLD because the stock climbed 29.2% since our rat
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at johnsoh@shinhan.com and chank@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Upturn in TV demand follows recovery in IT product demandDemand for personal computers (notebooks, tablets, and desktops) surged with a growing number of people
The author is an analyst of NH Investment and Securities. She can be reached at jy.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, F&F’s online sales have risen. With outdoor activity set to rise as an alternative to overseas travel this year, the firm’s athleisure brand Discovery should benefit gr
The author is an analyst of NH Investment and Securities. She can be reached at jy.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Hotel Shilla’s DFS sales slightly recovered in May on the Korea Custom Service’s decision to allow DFS inventories to be distributed in the domestic market as well as overseas markets via internat
The author is an analyst of NH Investment and Securities. She can be reached at jy.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Being a leading retail franchise operator, GS Retail is to benefit from higher structural unemployment amid industry automation and a global economic slowdown. GS Retail’s 2Q20 earnings should com
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jy.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Retail franchise operators are to benefit from a Covid-19-induced rise in structural unemployment. DFS players’ earnings are to be buoyed by eased cost burdens (on rent cuts for IIA DFS operators) a
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We estimate Samsung Electronics’ 2Q20 OP at W5.65tn (-12% q-q). Affected by Covid-19 and delayed reflection of one-off gains at the display division, the firm’s 2Q20 earnings are likely to arrive slug