Q4 2023

Asset management Korea Investment & Securities to sell Goldman Sachs funds

Korea Investment & Securities Co. said on Tuesday it is set to sell funds operated by Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP in South Korea, offering...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Hanwha develops cutting-edge stealth paint for next-generation warships

Hanwha Ocean Co., a leading South Korean warship builder, has developed and tested an advanced stealth paint designed for the country’s KDDX n...

Corporate governance Hyundai Motor taps ex-CPPIB private equity head Suyi Kim for board role

Hyundai Motor Co. has tapped Suyi Kim, former private equity head of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Benjamin Tan, an ex-portfo...

Private equity EQT targets healthcare, technology, business service providers in Korea

EQT, the largest private equity firm in Europe, is setting its sights on healthcare, technology companies and business service providers in South Ko...

Earnings Samsung to focus on HBM, other high-end chips after weak Q4 earnings

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, on Friday vowed to cut its production of legacy chips and increase sales of pre...

Tech, Media & Telecom KT to sell financial security unit for $59 mn for restructuring

South Korea’s KT Corp. is set to sell Initech Co., its Kosdaq-listed financial security unit, for 85 billion won ($59.1 million) as the leadin...

Economy S.Korea’s economy grows 2.0% in 2024; Q4 GDP below forecast

South Korea’s economy expanded 2.0% last year, falling short of the central bank’s forecast on weaker-than-expected growth in the fourth...

Earnings SK Hynix surpasses Samsung with record-high profit in Q4

SK Hynix Inc., the top supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to Nvidia Corp., on Thursday reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of 8.08...

IPOs Celltrion seeks large-scale M&A in Q4, eyes 2027 Nasdaq debut

SAN FRANCISCO – South Korea’s leading biosimilar drug developer Celltrion Inc. seeks to acquire a domestic health food maker as early as...

Earnings Samsung’s Q4 profit misses expectations; Stock rises

Samsung Electronics Co. flagged weaker-than-expected earnings for the last quarter of last year due to a fall in memory chip prices and soft demand ...

Electronics Hanmi Semiconductor to build new TC Bonder plant in Incheon

Hanmi Semiconductor Co., South Korea’s leading chip packaging equipment manufacturer, held a ground-breaking ceremony for its seventh plant of...

Economy Korea’s export growth at 14-month low, adds to BOK rate cut views

South Korea’s export growth fell to a 14-month low in November with shipments to the world’s two biggest markets the US and China down, ...

Energy LS Electric shares jump on $358mn HVDC transformer order news

LS Electric Co., a South Korean industrial energy facility and systems supplier, is expected to sign a 500 billion won ($358 million) deal with a GE...

Electronics Apple supplier LG Innotek to invest $268.4 mn in Vietnam in 2025

South Korea’s LG Innotek Co., a major contractor for Apple Inc., said on Thursday it plans to spend 375.9 billion won ($268.4 million) next ye...

Corporate restructuring Gaon Cable takes over LS Cable & System's US arm

Gaon Cable Co. said on Tuesday it has taken over the US arm of parent company LS Cable & System Ltd. to beef up its business of mid-to-low volta...

Electronics LG to expand appliance subscriptions to India to speed up leasing business

LG Electronics Inc., the leading global home appliance maker, is considering expanding its subscription service into new overseas markets, such as I...

Sports Global sportswear brands race to ride on Korea’s running craze

Global sportswear makers have stepped up competition in South Korea to take advantage of the country’s growing running craze with major brands...

Corporate restructuring Fila sportswear brand downsizes loss-making US business

South Korean-owned sportswear brand Fila said on Tuesday it scaled back its loss-making US business to improve earnings through a restructuring in N...

Sovereign bonds Korea to join FTSE Rusell bond index to attract $66 bn inflows

South Korea will be included in a global major bond index next year to attract an estimated $66 billion in capital inflows to Asia’s fourth-la...

Automobiles Kia to sweep top three spots in Korea car sales on SUV, hybrid boom

Kia Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, is poised to claim the top three spots on the country’s best-selling car list this year thanks...

Automobiles Hyundai's accumulated production hits 100 mn unit milestone

Hyundai Motor has achieved the 100 million-unit milestone for its accumulated production 57 years after its inception, led by the Avante compact sed...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix mass-produces 12-layer HBM3E for Q4 shipment

SK Hynix Inc. said on Thursday it has begun mass-producing the world’s first 12-layer HBM3E with a capacity of 36 gigabytes (GB) for shipment ...

Bio & Pharma Celltrion chairman announces venture into CDMO market

South Korea’s biosimilar maker Celltrion Inc. will venture into the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market, the com...

IPOs Online lender K Bank aims for IPO at $4 bn valuation in Q4

Kbank, a South Korean online bank, is preparing to list on the main bourse Kospi at an estimated value of up to 5 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in the...

ESG LG Group publishes 2023 ESG Report

LG Group announced on Thursday that it has published the "2023 ESG Report," detailing its sustainability management achievements in 2023 and its fut...

Retail S.Korean travel retailers face downturn without Chinese big spenders

Before COVID-19 swept the world, South Korea’s top two travel retailers Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free Shop ascended to the world’...

Travel & Leisure Korean Telco giant KT’s Midas touch with hotel business  

KT Corp., one of South Korea’s top three mobile carriers, is on a roll in the hotel business despite its late foray into the hospitality indus...

Banking & Finance Korean pension subscribers show ultra-low risk tolerance

South Korean pension plan subscribers prefer to protect their money rather than taking risks for capital gains despite the government's effort to en...

Energy Korea seeks to curb China's offshore wind farm dominance

South Korea will prioritize non-price factors such as economic security and contributions to the domestic supply chain over bidding prices when sele...

Chemical Industry LG Chem emerges as global No. 4 chemicals maker: C&EN

South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. has emerged as the world’s fourth chemicals producer, the second Asian company to be among the five largest a...