The U.S. International Trade Commission’s recent ruling against SK Innovation in a lawsuit related to the infringement of electric vehicle (EV) battery trade secrets is dealing a harsh blow to the U.S. EV industry.The fallout from the ruling is impacting not just Georgia, where SK Innovation is buil
Whether to extend the ban on short selling will be decided in February. The ban is slated to come to an end on March 15. Controversy is heating up over the resumption of short selling amid opposition from politicians and individual investors who assert that short selling only gives advantages to for
KB Kookmin Bank is facing a 1.6 trillion won lawsuit in Indonesia. The plaintiff is Bosowa Group, and it was the largest shareholder in Bank Bukopin, which was acquired by KB last year. The defendants in the damage suit are KB and the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia.Bank Bukopin is running
Short selling is causing controversy again with the South Korean government’s temporary short selling ban scheduled to expire on March 16. The financial authorities are advocating the expiration whereas individual investors and some politicians are calling for a permanent ban.According to the author
Mahindra & Mahindra, HAAH Automotive Holdings and the Korea Development Bank (KDB) are failing to reach an agreement on whether Mahindra & Mahindra has to remain in SsangYong Motor as a shareholder. HAAH is a potential SsangYong acquirer and the KDB is the main creditor bank to SsangYong.The four si
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at mj1224@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Renewed interest in internet platform amid rise of large-cap stocksNAVER and Kakao shares are taking a breather after rallying by 81.8% and 168.4%, respectively, in 2020. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
The U.S. government gave a special permission so that US$7 billion in Iranian funds frozen in South Korea can be spent for humanitarian purposes such as vaccine purchase. At the same time, the U.S. government demanded settlement through JPMorgan Chase & Co.The South Korean government notified Iran o
Experts point out that the South Korean government needs to change its nuclear phase-out policy in order to attain its carbon neutrality goal by 2050 and the means of power generation preferred by the government may not be as economical as it thinks.The U.S. Energy Information Administration recentl
Solar module imports from China in 2020 were 100 times larger than Korea’s solar module exports to China.Solar modules imported from China between January and November in 2020 were estimated at US$317.31 million, said the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on Dec. 28. Korea’s imports of Ch
Mahindra & Mahindra applied for SsangYong Motor’s rehabilitation on Dec. 21. This sudden application is interpreted as brinkmanship based on the assumption that the Moon Jae-in administration, whose top priorities include stable employment, will not let more than 5,000 unionized workers walk out to
Much attention is being paid to how the KORUS alliance and its efforts for the denuclearization of North Korea will change under the Joe Biden administration.South Korean President Moon Jae-in had his first phone conversation with the new U.S. president-elect on Nov. 12, expressing his hope for even
The government and the ruling party are planning to revise the Commercial Act so that the exercise of voting rights by each major shareholder and affiliate person is limited to 3 percent of issued stocks during audit committee member appointment in a listed company. The Federation of Korean Industri
Unionized Kia Motors workers decided on Nov. 3 to stage a strike. Approximately 90 percent of the 29,261 workers participated in the voting and 73.3 percent of the participants voted for a strike whereas dissenting votes stood at 15.8 percent. Earlier, the workers applied for labor dispute arbitrati
New accounting standards for market value-based debt valuation have been released in accordance with IFRS 17 and insurers must periodically recalculate their liabilities from the beginning of 2023. The liabilities are likely to soar due to low interest rates and the financial authorities are calling
The Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea announced on Oct. 20 that Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 was undervalued in the decision-making process related to its early closure. The South Korean government, however, is still adhering to its nuclear phase-out policy, saying that the board did not
Google’s in-app payment and 30 percent fee were covered at the parliamentary inspection of the Ministry of Science and ICT that took place on Oct. 7. National Assembly members urged the passage of a Telecommunications Business Act amendment against in-app payment.Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker H
The authors are analysts of NH Investment & Securities. They can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com, ys.jung@njqv.com and midas.sohn@nhqv.com, respectively. – Ed. Domestic ESS market in slump following series of accidental ESS-related firesThe domestic ESS market enjoyed a rapid expansion in both 201
The Korea Internet Corporations Association held an online meeting on mandatory in-app payment on Sept. 23. Lawyer Jung Jong-chae of SN Law, a law firm in Seoul, gave a presentation at the meeting, calling for the Korea Fair Trade Commission to keep a closer watch on Google and Apple in relation to
SK Engineering & Construction (E&C) announced on Sept. 16 that it has opened "Home Internet of Health Things LAB" in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in cooperation with InBody, the world's No. 1 company in body composition analysis.The new lab showcases a future-oriented residential environment. The lab intr
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at sejonghong@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Video service is one of the must-do business areas for any company seeking to join the fourth industrial revolution. With competition in digital markets stiffening amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we