AI might rewrite Samsung’s memory chip past 5 Apr 2024 The tech giant estimates quarterly operating profit surged 10-fold to $5 bln, as prices for standard data-storage semiconductors recover. New demand for specialised versions that support artificial intelligence might help the company better navigate the next boom-and-bust cycle.
Biden’s subsidies are working a little too well 15 Mar 2024 The US president’s incentives for chips and clean energy have provoked a competitive scramble and raised the cost of building factories – which cuts the handouts’ real value to recipients like Intel. The risk is that investment zeal sets the scene for future gluts.
Korea Inc’s Japan makeover only scratches surface 12 Mar 2024 South Korea is copying its neighbour's corporate reform drive to lift anaemic valuations. But voluntary disclosures and tax breaks are unlikely to spur change among chaebol like Samsung which dominate the $1.9 trln stock market. Seoul's push requires more stick than carrot.
Hyundai’s India IPO will crush Korean discount 9 Feb 2024 A Mumbai listing of its local unit at a $30 bln valuation would secure an earnings multiple many times its parent. Proceeds will fuel blistering growth and enable Hyundai to cut more deals. It rarely makes sense to float subsidiaries but this plan looks more than roadworthy.
Samsung may finally listen to pushy shareholders 24 Jan 2024 Palliser and other outsiders want the South Korean conglomerate’s defacto holding firm, Samsung C&T, to boost returns. It’s underperformed for years but if a court ruling goes in the favour of group leader Jay Y Lee next month, he’ll have a new reason to listen to agitators.
Samsung is primed to seize AI chipmaking crown 9 Jan 2024 The $390 bln Korean giant could become a one-stop shop for AI semiconductors. Losses in its memory chip unit are probably shrinking, and it is bulking up in logic chips and packaging. Samsung is rapidly moving towards a level of integration that could give it an edge over TSMC.
Farfetch rescue leaves scattered luxury debris 18 Dec 2023 The struggling online merchant secured a bailout from South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, which is injecting $500 mln. The deal gives Farfetch a fresh shot at existence, but leaves former backer Richemont wiped out, and its new investor with fresh messes to clean.
South Korea’s short-selling ban is one step back 6 Nov 2023 The decision will please retail investors in the $1.8 trln bourse and curb volatility. Yet it looks excessive, even if some banks have misbehaved. The sudden prohibition will scare off emerging market fund investors, and hurts the country’s push for developed-market status.
Samsung’s ASML sale highlights vexing cash bind 18 Aug 2023 South Korea’s $330 bln chipmaker more than halved its stake in the Dutch group to raise an estimated $2 bln for its expansion plans. Yet the company already has $66 bln in the bank. Trouble is, much of that is probably trapped abroad, necessitating some creative funding choices.
South Korea’s rematch with Elliott is a lose-lose 3 Aug 2023 Seoul is challenging a $100 mln arbitration award to Paul Singer’s feisty hedge fund over a Samsung merger in 2015. Accepting defeat will invite more claims against the government but the appeal prolongs an embarrassing national saga. Korea Inc will pay the price.
Samsung sees glimmer of light at end of tunnel 7 Jul 2023 The $365 bln South Korean tech titan warned that its quarterly operating profit has probably cratered 96%, thanks to a global memory-chip glut. But there are signs that prices are bottoming out. A recent artificial intelligence frenzy may also bolster demand in the year ahead.
Seoul and Tokyo demonstrate chip war limits 16 Mar 2023 Japan may ease curbs put on high-tech materials exports to South Korea after a four-year diplomatic spat. The impact was minimal; companies like Samsung found easy workarounds. The United States and China face similar difficulties decoupling sophisticated supply chain links.
K-pop showdown amplifies shareholder voices 22 Feb 2023 A hostile takeover of South Korean music label SM by rival Hybe, which manages global boy-band sensation BTS, is heading to a ballot. The fierce saga exposes corporate governance woes that plague Asia, but also some unlikely progress. Whichever side prevails, investors win.
Fed gets credit for providing perpetual angst 8 Nov 2022 Investors in Asia are overreacting after a South Korean issuer flipflopped on a decision to exercise a call option on a $500 mln bond. Liquidity measures from Seoul eased an earlier rout but pressure from U.S. rate hikes is turning boring corners of finance into something hot.
America throws South Korean chipmakers for a loop 28 Oct 2022 Samsung and SK Hynix dominate the memory market and can adjust output to protect profits as demand falls. But that flexibility will be eroded under Washington's export curbs against China, where the pair have factories. It's an example of the unforeseen effects from the tech war.
Kakao has plenty more data fires to put out 20 Oct 2022 The $16 bln South Korean superapp owner's co-CEO has stepped down following a massive outage. Given how dependent the country is on the company's online services, that's unlikely to quell a rising public backlash. The costs of added rules and regulatory scrutiny will add up.
Samsung stares at use-it-or-lose-it cash dilemma 7 Oct 2022 Cooling demand for chips and smartphones hit operating profit at the South Korean trade bellwether. It’s trying to catch up to rivals on multiple fronts, and a crashing won cuts the cheque it could write for overseas M&A. Deploying its $77 bln war chest is getting trickier.
Naver’s $1.2 bln U.S. bet tests investor limits 5 Oct 2022 They wiped $3 bln off the South Korean e-commerce giant’s market value after its swoop for struggling online marketplace Poshmark. Naver boss Choi Soo-Yeon reckons she can turn her target’s fortunes around. But amid crashing markets and slowing growth, the deal looks ill-timed.
South Korea gets short end of U.S. trade stick 3 Oct 2022 Seoul wants to sell more chips and other goods overseas, but Washington is luring Samsung and compatriots to make in America. A trade deficit and crashing won offer a glimpse at what a U.S. revival in high-tech manufacturing means for the $1.8 trln trade-dependent Asian economy.
Samsung climate inertia is by-product of Seoul’s 20 Sep 2022 The $274 bln conglomerate's 2050 net-zero goal underwhelms next to those set by Apple, Intel and others. Blame South Korea’s power-market monopoly and regressive renewable policies. With investors and customers demanding action, Samsung's corporate heft will be put to the test.