Taiwanese fabless firms outwit Korean rivals in chip supercycle

Taiwanese fabless firms outwit Korean rivals in chip supercycle

Taiwanese fabless semiconductor firms, with backing from their hometown foundry companies, are reaping the benefits of higher chip prices and soarin...

Samsung loses ground in foundry market as TSMC ties in with Japanese firms

Samsung loses ground in foundry market as TSMC ties in with Japanese firms

Samsung Electronics Co., which is losing share of the global foundry market, has come under increased pressure from its bigger rival Taiwan Semicond...

Luxury goods platform MUST'IT raises over $10 mn from VC firms

Luxury goods platform MUST'IT raises over $10 mn from VC firms

South Korea-based luxury goods platform MUST'IT has secured 13 billion won ($11.7 million) in a bridge round from venture capital firms Kakao Invest...

Hana buys Osaka logistics center for about $140 mn

Hana buys Osaka logistics center for about $140 mn

South Korea's Hana Alternative Asset Management Co. has beat 16 Japanese bidders to acquire a logistics center in the port of Osaka, Japan for ¥...

Kakao joins OTT race with INISOFT acquisition

Kakao joins OTT race with INISOFT acquisition

Kakao Corp. is entering the over-the-top (OTT) streaming market. According to investment banking sources on May 27, Kakao’s entertainment and ...

Samsung Life buys 25% stake in Savills IM for $90 mn

Samsung Life buys 25% stake in Savills IM for $90 mn

Samsung Life Insurance Co. has agreed to buy a 25% stake in Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) for £63.75 million ($90 million) from U...

SK Nexilis, POSCO move forward with EV battery materials projects

SK Nexilis, POSCO move forward with EV battery materials projects

With competition heating up in the global race for more eco-friendly cars, South Korea’s major companies are moving forward with their plans t...

LG Chem stock plunges -6.73%, worst dip since March

LG Chem stock plunges -6.73%, worst dip since March

LG Chem Ltd. suffered a broad sell-off on May 26, with more than 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) of its market cap vanishing in a single trading day, ...

China’s heavy imports of copper, steel scrap hurt Korean SMEs

China’s heavy imports of copper, steel scrap hurt Korean SMEs

South Korea’s massive exports of scrap steel and scrap copper to China are hurting its domestic companies that are struggling to secure the st...

Cloud firms rush to secure footing in pet data market

Cloud firms rush to secure footing in pet data market

The pet care market is set to ride a "cloud wave" as companies make use of pet data on cloud storage spaces to tap into the growing pet care market,...

Korean medical cosmetics firms make big rebound in Q1

Korean medical cosmetics firms make big rebound in Q1

South Korean medical cosmetics companies that underwent a tough year in 2020 are posting rejuvenated earning results thanks to s rise in demand in E...

STIC Ventures invests $2 mn in Vietnamese logistics startup EcoTruck

STIC Ventures invests $2 mn in Vietnamese logistics startup EcoTruck

South Korea-based venture capital firm STIC Ventures has recently invested $2 million in a Vietnamese logistics startup EcoTruck, a move aimed at bo...

Korean firms emerge triumphant from pandemic with record Q1 profits

Korean firms emerge triumphant from pandemic with record Q1 profits

South Korean companies have posted their best-ever quarterly sales and operating profits, emerging from a year-long slump caused by the global COVID...

Baring PEA revives IPO plan for delivery firm Logen

Baring PEA revives IPO plan for delivery firm Logen

Baring Private Equity Asia is joining a group of private equity firms that have just resumed the stalled process for initial public offerings of the...

Korean foundry firm DB HiTek sets new Q1 sales record

Korean foundry firm DB HiTek sets new Q1 sales record

South Korea’s foundry company DB HiTek Co. has reported the highest quarterly revenue since its establishment in 1997. The company’s reg...

LG Chem to invest $134 mn in incubator fund for firms with ESG tech

LG Chem to invest $134 mn in incubator fund for firms with ESG tech

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemical and battery maker, said on Tuesday it is investing 150 billion won ($134 million) in an incubator...

Korean oil companies to bask in rising refining margins, growing demand

Korean oil companies to bask in rising refining margins, growing demand

Oil refiners in South Korea and across Asia have been among those hit hardest by the subdued demand amid the global pandemic. With increasing vaccin...

Korean pharmas may turn into global vaccine makers on Biden remarks

Korean pharmas may turn into global vaccine makers on Biden remarks

South Korea’s biosimilar and pharmaceutical companies are looking at a growing chance of emerging as a global hub for manufacturing vaccines f...

Korea’s major firms look for M&A targets in battery materials business

Korea’s major firms look for M&A targets in battery materials business

South Korea’s major companies are looking for merger and acquisition opportunities in the rechargeable battery materials sector, which is grow...

Ad tech firm Moloco joins unicorn club via Series C round

Ad tech firm Moloco joins unicorn club via Series C round

Moloco Inc., a data-driven advertising solutions firm, has concluded its Series C funding round, rendering the company a newcomer to the unicorn clu...

Shinhan joins in Australian firm's $85 mn refinancing deal

Shinhan joins in Australian firm's $85 mn refinancing deal

South Korea's Shinhan Investment Corp. has participated in a A$110 million ($85 million) refinancing package for Australia's Entertainment and Educa...

Corporate storytelling: S.Korean firms' next growth key

Corporate storytelling: S.Korean firms' next growth key

South Korea’s major companies are increasingly adopting corporate storytelling as a means of rebranding their identities.As the companies enjo...

Big data firm FiscalNote eyes SPAC listing in US; valuation could top $1 bn

Big data firm FiscalNote eyes SPAC listing in US; valuation could top $1 bn

FiscalNote, a Washington D.C.-based tech firm that uses artificial intelligence and big data to track, predict and analyze regulation and legislatio...

Freight crunch pushes S.Korean export firms into crisis

Freight crunch pushes S.Korean export firms into crisis

Since the end of last year, countries have begun lifting COVID-19 lockdowns, driving a speedy recovery in export freight volume despite transportati...

VC firms queue up for IPOs as startup valuations soar

VC firms queue up for IPOs as startup valuations soar

A slew of South Korean venture capital firms are knocking on the doors of the domestic stock market, with startup investments hitting the jackpot am...

SK Group’s holding firm aims to become Korea’s Berkshire Hathaway

SK Group’s holding firm aims to become Korea’s Berkshire Hathaway

Jang Dong-hyun, chief executive of SK Inc., formerly known as SK Holdings Co. made a rare public remark during a March shareholder meeting, saying t...

EastBridge beats KKR, TPG to buy Korean waste disposal firm

EastBridge beats KKR, TPG to buy Korean waste disposal firm

South Korea-based EastBridge Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the country's waste treatment firm YIDO for around 260 billion won (...

Two Korean firms look to buy six France warehouses

Two Korean firms look to buy six France warehouses

South Korea's Mastern Investment Management Co. and Kiwoom Securities Co. are in the due diligence process to acquire six last-mile logistics center...

Korean funds, firms eye jackpot from Grab’s Nasdaq listing

Korean funds, firms eye jackpot from Grab’s Nasdaq listing

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), other state-run savings funds and big companies are expected to pocket decent gains from their...

Smilegate becomes 5th game firm to join trillion won club

Smilegate becomes 5th game firm to join trillion won club

Smilegate Entertainment Inc. has become the fifth South Korean game company to join the trillion won club, as it posted a revenue of 1.73 trillion w...

Hyundai Glovis charts new waters with world’s first AI-driven self-sailing car carrier fleet Korea’s game studios rebrand as AI tech firms, move into fashion, robotics, media Return of the K-pop queens: Blackpink, Twice power up YG, JYP Samsung to launch AI health coach beta in US by end-2025 South Korea moves to mandate treasury share cancellation