[Market Eye] Samsung at crossroads as chip consortium buying Arm is in offing

Amid growing speculation that the world’s behemoth chipmakers are envisioning a game-changing consortium investing in United Kingdom-based chip design house Arm, all eyes are on whether South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics will join the team. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is now on a two-week trip to Europe, and is widely anticipated to be heading to the UK after Germany and the Netherlands. Once Lee’s visit to the UK is confirmed, Arm is speculated to be on

June 15, 2022

LG Display secures $1b funding in renewed push for smaller OLED

LG Display said Wednesday it has secured fresh funding worth $1 billion from multiple global banks with the aim to expand its presence in the smaller OLED market which is dominated by its archrival Samsung Display. LG Display is the world’s largest manufacturer of large OLED panels for TVs, but still remains a distant No. 2 in the smaller OLED market for smartphones and other mobile devices. The firm said it has raised long-term loans from the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, HS

June 15, 2022

SK On, Posco Holdings ink strategic partnership on batteries

SK On and Posco Holdings said Wednesday that they have forged a strategic partnership in a move to secure a stable ecosystem for their burgeoning battery business amid deepening worries over global supply chain disruptions. They plan to create a working-level group to work together on global expansion, joint investment in raw materials, a road map for cathode development, expansion of anode supplies and a collection network for used batteries. The extensive partnership comes as both firms are

June 15, 2022

Money supply up in April as deposits grow amid rising rates

South Korea's money supply grew in April as rising interest rates led to an increase in deposits, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at 3,667.1 trillion won ($2.84 trillion) on average in April, up 8.5 trillion won, or 0.2 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rise followed a 0.1 percent on-month decline in March, which marked the first contraction since September 2018.

June 15, 2022

BTS’ hiatus announcement rattles Hybe shares

Shares of Hybe, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, fell almost 25 percent on Wednesday, rattled by the boy band’s announcement that it will take time off from group activities to pursue solo projects. Hybe shares closed 24.87 percent lower from the previous session at 145,000 won ($112.5). It had opened at 168,000 won after closing at 193,000 won in the previous session. Within the first hour of trading, the shares plummeted to 140,000 won, over 25 percent lower from the previous c

June 15, 2022

Lotte hints at major portfolio shift to expand bio businesses

SAN DIEGO -- Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate, will look to bolster its recently launched bio sector by scaling down the current four main business areas -- chemicals, food, hotels and retail -- and possibly putting one of them up for sale. “Our goal is to grow our bio and health interests into a portfolio that matches our four main portfolios,” Lee Hun-ki, Lotte Holdings’ executive vice president, said in a press meeting near the BIO International

June 15, 2022

JP Morgan predicts BOK's 'big-step' rate hike amid inflation woes

Global investment bank JP Morgan on Wednesday forecast that South Korea's central bank could take a "big step" of raising its interest rate by 50 basis points as part of efforts to keep a lid on growing inflation pressure. JP Morgan also expected the Bank of Korea (BOK) to continue the sequence of its rate hikes in the months to come and raise the rate to as high as 3 percent by the end of the year. The forecast is based on its analysis of minutes the BOK disclosed a day earlier o

June 15, 2022

Auto exports up 19.1% in May on solid demand for eco-friendly cars

South Korea's car exports rose 19.1 percent in May from the previous year on the back of global popularity of eco-friendly cars, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles stood at 182,869 units last month, compared with 150,894 units a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, auto exports grew 18.9 percent on-year to $4.15 billion last month, which is a record-high figure for May. Car exports marked on-year growth

June 15, 2022

Space rocket Nuri being positioned at launch pad ahead of 2nd launch

South Korea's first homegrown space rocket Nuri was being positioned at the launch pad at Naro Space Center on Wednesday, a day ahead its second attempt to send multiple satellites into orbit. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, was rolled out from the assembly building to the launch pad at the state-run space center operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Goheung, a southern coastal village some 470 kilometers south of Seoul. The three-stage rock

June 15, 2022

LG to enter logistics market with robotic tech

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday that it will enter the fast-growing logistics market with its robotic technology as part of efforts to become an automated logistics solutions provider. The tech giant said it will sign a memorandum of understanding with major parcel delivery firm CJ Logistics Corp. later in the day to co-develop integrated robotic solutions for parcel sorting and picking. LG said it will supply CJ Logistics with its robot, CLOi CarryBot, and other solutions to be used in a maj

June 15, 2022

[Graphic News] Trade of computers, peripherals hits new high

　South Korea’s trade of computers and related goods soared nearly 40 percent to reach a new all-time high in the first four months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　The country’s exports and imports of computers and peripherals stood at $13.3 billion in the January-April period, up 40.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. 　Computers and peripherals include desktops, notebooks, tablets, solid state drives, memory

June 15, 2022

Fitch cuts 2022 growth outlook for S. Korea to 2.4%

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings on Wednesday lowered its 2022 growth outlook for the South Korean economy to 2.4 percent, citing the fallout of the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine and China's economic slowdown. The latest outlook is a 0.3 percentage-point drop from its March estimate of 2.7 percent growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy. Fitch said slower global growth and China's economic slowdown are posing "external challenges" to the South Korean ec

June 15, 2022

Seoul shares open lower ahead of Fed's rate hike decision

Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday as investors remained jittery over the path that the Federal Reserve will take on monetary policy this week amid surging inflation. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.36 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,477.61 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares closed mixed ahead of the conclusion of the Fed's two-day interest rate-setting meeting on Wednesday (US time). Many expected the central bank to take the "giant st

June 15, 2022

Report: S. Korea's global competitiveness ranking falls to 27th in 2021

South Korea's global competitiveness ranking fell by four notches this year from the previous year amid the economic slowdown and a continued rise in the national debt, a report showed Wednesday. South Korea ranked 27th in terms of global competitiveness among 63 countries surveyed, according to the 2022 report by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). The IMD, a Switzerland-based international institution, has been releasing the report every year since 1989 based on

June 15, 2022

As US Fed decision looms, Kospi sinks under 2,500

Simmering fears over a sharper-than-expected US Federal Reserve rate hike amid red-hot US inflation dragged down South Korea’s benchmark Kospi below the 2,500 mark for the first time in 19 months on Tuesday.  The main board closed at 2,492.97, after reaching an intraday low of 2,457.39. The Fed will raise interest rates on Wednesday there, with investors dramatically raising their bets on a hike of 75 basis points, steeper than the 50 basis points the Fed had indicated

June 14, 2022

Seoul stocks down for 6th day on rate hike woes; Korean won further losing ground

South Korean stocks fell to a fresh 19-month low Tuesday to extend their losing streak to a sixth day as investors were wary of a larger-than-expected interest rate hike in the US and a global economic recession. The local currency continued to slide against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 11.54 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 2,492.97 after falling to as low as 2,457.39 at one point. Trading volume was moderate at 661.21 million shares worth 9.80 trillion

June 14, 2022

[Photo News] Crypto falling

Cryptocurrency prices displayed at a Bithumb customer service center in Seoul on Wednesday shows bitcoin‘s price dropping below 30 million won ($23,335) for the first time in 1 1/2 years.

June 14, 2022

Nuri rocket launch postponed to Thursday due to wind

The launch of homegrown rocket Nuri will be delayed by one day to Thursday due to windy weather at the launch site, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday, a day before the space rocket was to be launched. It is the second space rocket to be launched after the first blastoff last October failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit. Due to the bad weather, the government and state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute have pushed the transportation of the rocket to Wednesday, and the act

June 14, 2022

Samsung Biologics to build first overseas factory in US

SAN DIEGO -- Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim said Monday the US states of California, North Carolina, Washington and Texas are the strongest candidates the South Korean contract manufacturing organization is considering for its first overseas production facility. Pointing out that some of the US’ major bio clusters are located in those four states, the CEO added that the CMO giant has not made any decisions and is still reviewing options. “We are certainly expanding. The Plant 4 wi

June 14, 2022

Yoon vows supply-side efforts to tame inflation

President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Tuesday to make all-out efforts to curb soaring inflation by resolving issues on the “supply side.” “The administration plans to take all possible steps to resolve issues on the supply side as the inflationary pressure is stemming from the supply side,” Yoon told reporters as he arrived at the presidential office. Tuesday’s vow follows Yoon’s orders to officials “to seek ways to ease the burden on Koreans as higher infl

June 14, 2022