SK on, a battery subsidiary of SK Innovation, and BlueOvalSK, a joint venture between SK on and Ford Motor Company for electric vehicle batteries, has received conditional approval for a policy fund loan of up to US$9.2 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).On June 23, SK on announced tha
Vietnam, to which President Yoon Suk-yeol will pay a three-day state visit beginning June 22, has become a center of research and development (R&D) for Samsung and LG for the future, becoming more than a global production outpost for them.Samsung posted sales of US$73.7 billion (about 95.3678 trilli
Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent and considered a living legend in the semiconductor industry, will visit the Samsung Foundry Forum 2023 in late June in San Jose, California. Keller’s recent chip development collaboration with LG Electronics has lead to an increase in his contacts with Korean companie
The Korean business community criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling that labor union members who engage in illegal labor disputes must be held individually liable for damages, calling it a “ruling that undermines the fundamentals of the rule of law at industrial sites.”“The Supreme Court’s ruling cr
The author is an analyst for KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com -- Ed.Maintain BUY, TP of KRW170,000We maintain BUY and TP of KRW170,000 for LG Electronics (LGE), as: (1) Home Appliance & Air Solution (H&A) should post all-time high OP for 2023E (KRW2.3tn; +100% YoY) amid decreasi
Apple took the wraps off Apple’s Vision Pro, a mixed reality (MR) device that performs both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) functions on June 5. Since then, the new device has been receiving rave reviews.What has driven the Vision Pro’s popularity is its organic light-emitting diode
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.For SK hynix, inventory restocking orders have started to materialize from some customers. With the inventories of memory makers trending down, industry conditions are forecast to improve in earnest fr
KT, the South Korean telecommunications giant, announced that it will host an exhibition for domestic ICT innovation companies at Viva Technology 2023 (VivaTech), Europe's largest startup exhibition held annually. The company aims to assist these firms in their entry into the European market.The
Korean companies are putting front and center premium TVs that offer special experiences in addition to delivering strong performance in order to maintain their position as the traditional powerhouses in the global TV market. This move is being made as Chinese TV makers have been waging a price war
Apple’s unveiling of Vision Pro, a mixed reality (MR) device, has put microdisplays in the limelight. Microdisplays are a key component for headsets. Moreover, the luxury headset’s display accounts for about half of the total cost of US$3,499 (about 4.5 million won), so interest is growing in whethe
Samsung Electronics and LG Display are expected to establish a visible “OLED alliance.”Through this alliance, Samsung Electronics can quickly settle in the emerging OLED TV market, and LG Display is expected to secure the number one spot in the TV industry as a new customer and improve its performan
Hanwha Q CELLS has won three prestigious global awards in the field of solar energy in Europe and the United States. This is viewed as a validation of the tenacity of Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Solutions, who has been actively investing in the solar business as a promising future industr
The LG Group is speeding up the expansion of its ecosystem with external specialized companies to seize the field of artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. The move back into the semiconductor business by the LG Group, which completely withdrew from the field in 1999, is garnering attention.On
Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group, expressed his strong determination to complete the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, suggesting the possibility of concessions to major regulatory authorities such as the United States.In an interview with Bloomberg TV in Istanbul, Turkey on June 5
LG Electronics will team up with legendary CPU developer Jim Keller to develop artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.Canadian AI chip developer Tenstorrent announced on May 31 that it will collaborate with LG Electronics to develop AI and video codec chiplets.LG Electronics will utilize the AI
Senior members of the Ukrainian and Polish governments asked Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong to make investment in the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) during Won’s visit to Poland to discuss Korea’s participation in Ukraine’s reconstruction project.The 3SI envision t
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at kyuha.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.In 2023, we expect global smartphone shipments to contract 2.2% y-y to W1.2bn units, affected by global macro impacts and a reduction in smartphone replacement demand. But, unlike in 1H23, smartpho
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at bh.lee@shinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 review: Sales and operating profit worse than expectedIncross posted consolidated sales of KRW10.3bn (+10.2% YoY) and operating profit of KRW2.2bn (+21.1% YoY, operating margin of 21.2%) in 1Q23, miss
LG Display announced that its research papers on “Ultra-large OLED” and “Stretchable Display” development technologies were selected as “Distinguished Papers of the Year” at the Society for Information Display (SID), an international academic conference for display information.SID is the world's
Korea’s display industry led by Samsung Display and LG Display will invest more than 65 trillion won in order to recapture the No. 1 spot in the market share standings in the global display market from China by 2027. The plan is to increase the global market share to 50 percent in 2027, widen its te