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    SK hynix overtakes Samsung in market value amid AI-driven chip boom

    SK hynix overtook Samsung Electronics to claim the top position on KOSPI by market capitalization on Monday, ending Samsung's reign of 25 years and seven months as the benchmark index's most valuable listed company. KOSPI, meanwhile, edged higher to close above the 9,100 mark, setting a new record high on a closing basis. According to the Korea Exchange, SK hynix recorded a market capitalization of about 2,080.38 trillion won ($1.35 trillion), surpassing Samsung Electronics’ 2,066.66 trillion won by about 13.72 trillion won on a closing price basis. Samsung Electronics first claimed KOSPI's top spot by market capitalization on July 29, 1999, and had maintained its dominance uninterrupted since Nov. 21, 2000. The change at the top comes amid a rally in the semiconductor sector fueled by surging demand tied to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. While both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have benefited from the trend, SK hynix has delivered markedly stronger stock performance, ending Samsung's long-standing reign as the market's most valuable company. Samsung's shares have risen nearly

    3 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    SK hynix overtakes Samsung in market value amid AI-driven chip boom
  • Economy

    InterviewHow Korea can turn its chip boom into lasting strength

    3 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    How Korea can turn its chip boom into lasting strength
  • Policy

    Concentration in chips 'natural'; efforts to improve foreigners' market access underway: KRX chief

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Concentration in chips 'natural'; efforts to improve foreigners' market access underway: KRX chief
  • Economy

    Watchdog launches probe into Mirae Asset Securities over SpaceX IPO allocation debacle

    3 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Watchdog launches probe into Mirae Asset Securities over SpaceX IPO allocation debacle
  • Economy

    Over 200 stocks face delisting as penny stock crackdown kicks off in July

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Over 200 stocks face delisting as penny stock crackdown kicks off in July
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Economy

Soaring grocery prices fueling inflation woes

gettyimagesbankEyes on BOK inflation outlook revision in August By Lee Kyung-min Prices of frequently purchased consumer items are on a continual, steep rise due to surging oil and raw material prices, fueling concerns that inflation here may no longer be transitory.The sustained price hike in oil and raw materials lifted by a recovery in demand could lead to across-the-board increases in the prices of key consumer goods, compounded by lingering supply-side uncertainties that have boosted prices of agricultural produce over the past year.Further advancing this is a steady influx of liquidity brought about by emergency fiscal spending put in place to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, as indicated by record-low borrowing costs and extra stimulus packages financed in part by debt.Whether the Bank of Korea will make an upward revision of its consumer prices estimate in August remains to be seen. The central bank said Thursday that inflation for this year would be at the low- to mid- 2 percent range, up from 1.8 percent projected in May. It is a further jump from 1.3 percent estimated in Feb

Jul 16, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Soaring grocery prices fueling inflation woes
Economy

BlackRock Real Assets acquires IGIS Private Equity

BlackRock's corporate sign at its building in New York in this 2018 file photo. Reuters-YonhapBy Park Jae-hyukBlackRock Real Assets, an affiliate of the world's largest asset manager, said Thursday it has acquired a 100-percent stake in IGIS Private Equity, which has been rebranded as the Korea Renewable Energy Development & Operation (KREDO) Holdings.This is BlackRock Real Assets' first investment in Korea's offshore wind sector through its latest Global Renewable Power strategy that raised $4.8 billion earlier this year. More than a third of the money has been injected into climate-related infrastructure in the Asia Pacific, according to the company.BlackRock Real Assets plans to invest more than $1 billion in KREDO Holdings to help Korea reduce CO2 emissions by 7 million tons and contribute to the government's net-zero initiative.“We are delighted to make a material commitment to the energy transition in South Korea,” BlackRock Renewable Power managing director Charlie Reid said. “We believe that offshore wind will play a vital role in the nation's road to de

Jul 15, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
BlackRock Real Assets acquires IGIS Private Equity
Economy

Korean stock market urged to brace for early US tapering

A dealer at Hana Bank's headquarters in Seoul in this file photo on June 17. YonhapKOSPI will remain solid despite Delta variant spreadBy Lee Min-hyungDespite escalating fears over the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, the stock market here will remain resilient throughout the latter half of 2021, as the bourse and investors are displaying few signs of instability even in this early phase of a fourth wave of the pandemic, analysts said Wednesday.Market participants already recognize possible fear factors surrounding the spread of the variant and appear to believe that this is not a threat serious enough to incur a drastic collapse of the local stock market, according to market experts.The benchmark KOSPI plunged sharply to the 1,400-level in March last year when the first COVID-19 wave impacted the local economy. But the stock market has not crashed and instead continued a bullish run, even during the second and third waves, on investor confidence that the fundamentals of Korean firms remain strong enough to quell any concerns raised by the spread of the coronavirus.After the mai

Jul 15, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Korean stock market urged to brace for early US tapering
Economy

International migrants nosedive amid pandemic

By Anna J. ParkThe number of people entering and leaving Korea fell last year by the largest rate on record as the COVID-19 pandemic caused global air traffic to grind to a virtual halt, while governments tightened screening of international travelers.According Statistics Korea, Thursday, 1.23 million people arrived in Korea last year, down by 15.9 percent compared to 2019. It was also the sharpest fall seen since 2000. Last year, 233,000 foreign nationals entered Korea, down 46.8 percent compared to 2019. While fewer foreigners arrived in Korea, the number of Korean nationals who returned to their home country last year reached the highest level on record, due to international students and Koreans living abroad returning from overseas as the pandemic spread. A closer look at the numbers shows that people who visited Korea for short-term stays longer than 90 days in 2020 plummeted 61.6 percent year-on-year, while those who arrived here for employment dropped 54.3 percent. The number of foreign nationals who entered Korea to attend school last year also fell by 31.6 percent compared t

Jul 15, 2021By Anna J. Park
International migrants nosedive amid pandemic
Economy

Gompyo Beer brewer Sevenbrau to go public next year

A customer grabs a can of Gompyo Wheat Beer from the fridge of a convenience store. Courtesy of BGF RetailBy Anna J. ParkSevenbrau, a local craft beer company launched back in 2003, has been coming up with various brands of beers, including Gompyo Wheat Beer, drawing enthusiastic responses from local consumers. Based on its growing popularity, Sevenbrau is aiming to go public sometime next year. If it follows the planned timeline, Sevenbrau will be the second local craft beer maker to make its debut on the KOSDAQ market, following Jeju Beer that went public in May this year. According to the local investment banking industry, Sevenbrau will soon select its main underwriter for the potential listing, after holding bidding presentations among local securities firms. Sevenbrau's presence has been growing lately, as its Gompyo Wheat Beer continues to be ranked in among the top in beer sections at local convenience stores, since its launch back in May last year. Gompyo Wheat Beer once reached the top spot in the sales list at convenience store chain CU, defeating various world-famous beer

Jul 15, 2021By Anna J. Park
Gompyo Beer brewer Sevenbrau to go public next year
Economy

Korea Gas Corp. issues global bonds worth $800 million

The headquarters of Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) in Daegu/ Courtesy of KOGASBy Lee Kyung-min Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) said Thursday that it issued global bonds of $800 million (912 billion won) July 6 (local time) with the record-narrow credit spread among state-run firms here, a notable feat as indicated by global investors demanding up to five times the initial amount offered by the state-run organization.The yield spread or credit spread is the difference between a corporate bond's yield to maturity and that of a U.S. Treasury bond or note with a similar maturity date.The spread for the dual-tranche issuance of $4.5 billion five-year maturity bonds and $3.5 billion 10-year maturity bonds will be 0.375 percentage points higher and 0.65 percentage points higher than the respective U.S treasuries with the same maturities. The former offers a coupon rate of 1.125 percent, and the latter 2 percent.This comes two years after July 2019 when the state-run entity issued $500 million in global bonds. The most significant point in the dual-tranche issuance, it said, is that the credit spread of 65

Jul 15, 2021
Korea Gas Corp. issues global bonds worth $800 million
Economy

Bank of Korea will discuss key rate hike in August: governor

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol speaks during a press conference after holding a monetary policy board meeting at its headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Bank of KoreaCentral bank freezes benchmark rate at 0.5%By Lee Min-hyungBank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol said Thursday that the central bank will discuss a possible key rate hike during its next monetary policy board meeting in August, as the economy is projected to achieve a solid recovery throughout the year despite escalating fears over a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Taking into account the ongoing economic recovery, rising prices and the widening financial imbalance, the central bank needs to review whether to adjust the level of monetary easing during the next board meeting,” Lee told reporters during a press conference after the July meeting of the seven member monetary policy board.As widely expected, the board kept the benchmark rate frozen at 0.5 percent, but of note was the dissent of board member Koh Seung-beom who argued there was a need for a rate hike of 25 basis points.This was

Jul 15, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Bank of Korea will discuss key rate hike in August: governor
Economy

Bank of Korea stands pat as 4th wave of COVID-19 pandemic ups uncertainties

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol bangs the gavel after a meeting at the central bank's headquarters in Seoul, July 15. YonhapSouth Korea's central bank on Thursday held its benchmark policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent as the country is grappling with the recent spike in COVID-19 infections, which put the greater Seoul area under the highest level of virus restrictions.As widely expected, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted to leave the base rate steady in this year's fifth rate-setting meeting.The BOK's decision came as the nation was battling against its worst-ever COVID-19 outbreaks with daily new infections rising above 1,000 for more than a week. Before the fourth wave took hold, many analysts predicted that the BOK may raise its key rate in the fourth quarter of this year as BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol strongly hinted that monetary policy may begin to normalize "within this year." Investors will closely watch Lee's press conference, which will provide details on whether there were any dissenters.To bolster the pandemic-hit economy, the BOK slashed

Jul 15, 2021
Bank of Korea stands pat as 4th wave of COVID-19 pandemic ups uncertainties
Economy

FSC looks into possible violations in Jungheung's acquisition of Daewoo E&C

The headquarters of Daewoo E&C in central Seoul / Courtesy of Daewoo E&CDeal faces mounting calls for an investigationBy Anna J. ParkFinancial regulators are looking into whether a mid-sized construction company received preferential treatment in acquiring Daewoo Engineering and Construction (Daewoo E&C), which used to be one of Korea's top builders.The move follows suspicions raised by some lawmakers and unionized workers accusing Jungheung Construction of benefiting unfairly in it selection early last week as preferred bidder to acquire Daewoo E&C. The Financial Supervisory Commission said Wednesday that it is currently looking into the deal to see whether there were any violations of the law, adding that it plans to thoroughly examine the case after being briefed on the sale by state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the parent company of KDB Investment (KDBI).KDBI sold a 50.75 percent stake in Daewoo E&C to Jungheung. The mid-sized builder was selected as the preferred bidder in a controversial second round of bidding early last week to purchase Daewoo for 2.1

Jul 14, 2021By Anna J. Park
FSC looks into possible violations in Jungheung's acquisition of Daewoo E&C
Economy

IMM PE to acquire Hanssem

Hanssem's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of HanssemBy Park Jae-hyukIMM Private Equity (IMM PE) signed a memorandum of understanding with Hanssem, Wednesday, to acquire a controlling 30.21-percent stake in the nation's top furniture company for around 1.5 trillion ($1.3 billion) from its founder and honorary chairman, Cho Chang-gul, and seven affiliated people.While the seller did not hire an underwriter for the deal, the buyer has participated in the negotiations after hiring Samil PwC as a financial adviser. Because their talks went public a day earlier, Hanssem's stock price surged 24.68 percent during Wednesday's session, closing at 146,500 won.The 82-year-old founder's decision was initially attributed to a lack of a successor. His only son died in 2012, and his three daughters and his daughter-in-law have stayed away from the company's management. Some market observers cited the nation's excessive inheritance tax as the main reason.“Although the honorary chairman's three daughters own 1.3 percent, 0.9 percent and 0.7 percent stakes in Hanssem, respectively, they have not

Jul 14, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
IMM PE to acquire Hanssem
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