The Korea Enterprises Federation announced on March 16 that South Korea came in 15th out of 184 countries in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom but it recorded a very low score in the category of freedom in the labor market.South Korea’s latest overall score in the annual index is 7
SK Plasma will build a 300-billion-won blood plant in Indonesia. The plant will be capable of producing 1 million liters of blood products per year. The company plans to break ground on the plant in 2023 and complete it two years later.According to industry sources on March 7, SK Plasma has recently
Kakao announced that it would purchase 8,333,641 SM Entertainment shares, 35 percent of the total, by March 26. The public offer price is 150,000 won (US$114) per share and Kakao’s total investment is likely to be 1.25 trillion won (US$946 million). The company recently attracted an investment of 1.
Weak global demand and the U.S.-China trade conflict caused Samsung Electronics to lose more than 10 trillion won in assets held by its major subsidies in the United States and China over the past one-year period, according to a new report. The report also says that assets held by its major subsidia
Medytox announced on Jan. 20 that Gentix Limited, a subsidiary of its Chinese business partner Bloomage Biotechnology, filed a claim for damages with the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC). The amount claimed is about 119 billion won.Along with a claim for damages, Gentix filed a clai
The Korea Petroleum Association announced on Jan. 29 that South Korean oil refining companies’ petroleum product exports hit an all-time high of US$57.037 billion last year, up 71.2 percent from a year ago.In 2022, South Korea’s crude oil imports totaled US$95.45 billion and the ratio of the exports
HK inno.N has licensed out K-CAB, a novel drug for GERD that has Tegoprazan as its active ingredient, to Eurofarma, a major pharmaceutical firm in Brazil, the company announced on Jan. 26.Eurofarma is the third-largest pharmaceutical firm in Latin America, with operations in 20 different countries i
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Securities. They can be reached at jhwon@shinhan.com and snowKH@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed.4Q22 preview: Earnings to come in line with consensusWe now expect PharmaResearch to post consolidated operating profit of KRW18.9bn (+49.5% YoY, operating margin of 3
HK inno.N announced that its gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment K-CAB Tab has been approved by the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore on Jan. 11.According to approval documents, the drug has four approved indications – the treatment of erosive gastroesophageal reflux diseases, the treatme
Henley & Partners said in its report that Japan and South Korea came in first and second in its global passport ranking, respectively.“The world’s most powerful passport is Japanese, which enables no-visa travel to 193 countries,” it said, adding, “South Korea and Singapore came in second with a cou
POSCO International will establish a palm refinery in Indonesia as part of its efforts to transform into a general business company covering energy, food, and eco-friendly parts.The company announced on Jan. 10 that it has recently decided to enter the palm oil refining business in Indonesia. It wil
The author is an analyst of NH Securities and Investment. He can be reached at yk.choi@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We expect S-Oil’s 4Q22 earnings to prove disappointing on unfavorable turns in both the oil price and dollar/won rate. That said, we note that refining margins (a key barometer of industry conditi
Shareholders of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. approved new directors appointed by Global Sae-A Group, which is the largest shareholder of the construction company, in an extraordinary meeting on Dec. 29.Global Sae-A Group is the world's largest apparel export company. It signed a stoc
DL E&C announced on Dec. 21 that the company has completed the Tuas Terminal 1 sea landfill project in Singapore.Singapore is currently working on the Tuas Terminal project to create the world's largest port. When all four phases of the project are completed by 2040, it will be reborn as a super
Lotte Card announced on Nov. 29 that it has raised US$300 million by selling asset-backed securities (ABSs) overseas.DBS of Singapore and Societe Generale of France participated as investors in this ABS issuance. The average maturity is three years. The raised funds will be used for refinancing exis
SK Telecom (SKT) announced on Nov. 29 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Asia's leading communications technology group, Singtel, to jointly grow the metaverse business in countries where Singtel operates, starting with Singapore.Under the MOU, Singtel will share its bus
The Korea International Trade Association announced on Nov. 28 that South Korea’s semiconductor exports to China totaled US$42.013 billion for the first three quarters of this year, when South Korea’s semiconductor exports totaled US$102.5 billion. The ratio of the exports to China was 39.3 percent
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has accepted in principle the corrective measures submitted by Korean Air regarding its merger with Asiana Airlines. Accordingly, the CMA will listen to the opinions of those in the aviation industry before granting approval on the business combinatio
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com. -- Ed. In 2023, we expect to see notable differentiations in terms of growth potential and valuations among domestic apparel/textile players. In 2022, the domestic textile/apparel sector has been resettin
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Nov. 22 that South Korea’s maximum corporate tax rate, 25 percent, is the seventh-highest in the OECD along with those of Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium and the OECD average is 21.2 percent.“When local taxes are included, South Korea’s maximum is