The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has imposed a 10 billion won (US$11 million) fine on OCI, which engaged in unfair internal transactions to maintain and strengthen the control of a related party within the group.On June 6, the KFTC announced that E-Tech E&C (now SGC E&C) and Gunjang Energy (no
Propelled by the acceleration of the next generation of K-Beauty players, South Korea’s cosmetic exports have surpassed 10 trillion won for two consecutive years.According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on July 6, domestic cosmetic companies’ exports last year were 10.2751 trillion won (US$
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. She can be reached at kimaram@shinhan.com -- Ed.YLAB is a webtoon studio that has published popular titles like Island, Reawakened Man, Terror Man, Get Schooled, Reality Quest, and Study Group on NAVER Webtoon. Some of these stories are set in a share
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. She can be reached at inhae.ji@shinhan.com -- Ed.Record-high quarterly sales driven by IPs and concertsHYBE is expected to have achieved all-time high quarterly sales of KRW599.9bn in 2Q23, sharply exceeding upward adjusted market expectations. Driven
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at pk.park@nhqv.com -- Ed.GPM for domestic first-line NSCLC treatment sales is estimated at 62% of GPM for Janssen’s global Lazertinib royalties in 2028. When enrolled in insurance coverage, drug prices tend to fall on a hike
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at dongyang.kim@nhqv.com -- Ed.Marshalling profits from its E&P division, LXI is continuing its eco-friendly transition. Uncertainties over the NPS’s exclusion of coal projects from its investment portfolio should ease gradua
As the Korean insurance industry’s performances have improved this year, shareholders have much anticipation for an increase in dividends but insurers are hesitant to specify their dividend policies. This is because the introduction of the new accounting standard, IFRS17, and the new employee benefi
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. She can be reached at heeyeon.lim@shinhan.com -- Ed.KRW652.8bn buyback, KRW400bn cash dividend expected in 2023Meritz Financial Group’s cumulative shareholder return for 2023 is expected to reach around KRW1.05tr when applying its mid-term shareholder
Hoban Construction is set to be hit with a fine of over 60 billion won for unfair internal trading practices, specifically supporting the businesses of the controlling shareholder's descendants via “swarm bidding.” This penalty is the third-highest in the history of unfair internal trading incid
Korean credit card companies are growing fast in Southeast Asia. KB Card has risen to the top of the local car installment market share standings in Cambodia since making a foray into the country four years ago. Shinhan Card is also earning billions of won from its installment business in Vietnam an
In 2022, the operating incomes of more than 1,600 listed companies in Korea fell by one-third year over year, while interest expenses shot up by one-third, indicating a general deterioration in their profitability and stability, according to an analysis.The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KC
The income gap between workers at large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) widens from 1.4 times when they are in their early 20s to 2.5 times when in their early 50s.According to job administrative statistics by the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on June 11, the
Order jackpots have been boosting Korean defense companies’ earnings. With exports to Poland in full swing, the combined operating profit of Korea’s top five defense companies is expected to more than double by 2024, bringing the figure closer to 2 trillion won.According to industry sources and Hanw
SK networks will invest US$2 million (approximately 2.6 billion won) in Source.ag, a Netherlands-based artificial intelligence (AI) smart farm startup.On June 8, SK networks announced that it would invest US$2 million in the Series A round of Source.ag, a smart farm Software as a Service (SaaS) comp
The Hyundai and Kia labor unions are expected to demand at least 4.6 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) in performance-based bonuses alone in wage and collective bargaining negotiations for 2023. Many in the Korean business community are concerned that this will weaken the competitiveness of the Korean a
Providence Therapeutics Holdings Inc. ("Providence"), a biopharmaceutical company developing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines and therapeutics, today announced its mRNA drug discovery partnership with University Health Network (UHN), ranked first on a list of Canada's top 40 research hospitals by R
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.In its first IFRS17 earnings announcement, Mirae Asset Life reported 1Q23 NP of W101bn. Moving ahead, we expect that quarterly NP of around W50bn will be sustainable, even after excluding one-off FVPL
With the introduction of the new International Financial Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS 17), financial authorities have prepared guidelines to prevent insurance companies from inflating Contractual Service Margins (CSM) through arbitrary and optimistic actuarial assumptions.In particular, the guideline
Hyundai Motor’s labor union plans to demand a record-high wage increase in this year’s labor negotiations as global carmakers are in a race to invest in future vehicles.According to industry sources on May 25, Hyundai Motor’s labor union is preparing this year’s wage and collective bargaining demand
The Asiana Airlines Pilots Labor Union, which has been at odds with management over wage increases for more than half a year, has secured the right to strike legally. If the pilots vote to go on strike, it will be the first strike at Asiana in 18 years since 2005.According to the pilots labor union