January 24, 2022

• 
• 
• 

EDITOR'S PICKS

• Markets 
  

  LG Energy Solution IPO brings record-breaking fees

  An 11-member brokerage syndicate underwriting an initial public offering of LG Energy Solution next week is expected to raise a whopping 89 billion won ($75 million) in management fees following the record-breaking retail bids, made on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to regulatory filings on Thursday. The fees account for 0.7 percent of 12.7 trillion won. The electric vehicle battery maker is expected to raise from 42.5 million shares priced at 300,000 won apiece. Separately, they are expected

• Markets 
  

  Hyundai Glovis launches online platform for used car purchases

  Hyundai Glovis, Hyundai Motor Group’s logistics arm, said Thursday that it has launched Autobell, an online platform for used car sales and purchase, to diversify its business portfolio. Hyundai Glovis has been operating a used car business since 2001, mostly focused on B2B sales of secondhand cars through auctions. Its parent company Hyundai Motor sought to enter the certified used car market lately, but it seems blurry whether the automaker can launch B2C business as planned this mont

• Markets 
  

  LG Energy Solution’s strategies to prevent EV fires after IPO

  LG Energy Solution will employ four preemptive measures as it can’t afford yet another recall crisis after going public next week. According to market analysts Thursday, the South Korean battery giant will adopt Z-folding technology, manufacture more batteries resistant to gas issues, directly manufacture key safety components and mount ESS with fire-resistant LFP batteries. Z-folding The adoption of Z-folding technology reflects LG Energy Solution’s determination not to repeat

• Markets 
  

  KB Kookmin Bank makes inroads into Singapore

   South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank opened a branch in Singapore, which will work as its gateway into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc and global markets, the firm said Thursday. The launch of the branch came eight months after KB Kookmin was granted a license to operate a wholesale bank from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, according to the firm. The new branch’s key focuses are retail, corporate and investment banking and will partially deal with brokerage ser

• Markets 
  

  Metaverse scramble exposes Samsung’s software weakness

  Samsung Electronics’ obsession for foldable smartphones is drawing market concerns as the South Korean tech giant is missing out on what’s coming next: The metaverse. According to market tracker TrendForce Wednesday, Samsung remained as the No. 1 global smartphone brand by market share in 2021, but its smartphone business by sales grew just 0.9 percent on-year, drawing a big comparison with Apple’s 25.5 percent and Xiaomi’s 35.1 percent. Though growth has apparently st

• Markets 
  

  Minister warns against campaign pledges affecting home prices

  SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki raised the possibility that the housing market could be swayed by pledges of presidential candidates, and suggested he would try to block any speculative actions in particular regions via close monitoring. During a meeting of ministers in charge of real estate policies on Wednesday, Hong said there are symptoms that “home prices in some regions have been affected by pledges over large-scale development during the presidentia

• Markets 
  

  LG Electronics mulls Middle East HQ in Riyadh

  In the wake of the Saudi Arabian government’s pledge to attract foreign companies to relocate their regional headquarters to its capital city of Riyadh, LG Electronics is being pressured to move in step with other multinational companies. According to LG Electronics and news reports, the tech company dedicated to manufacturing TVs, monitors, laptops and home appliances is considering establishing a regional headquarters to oversee its operations in the Middle East and Africa, covering sa

• Markets 
  

  Korea to invest additional W400b in AI chips

  The South Korean government said on Wednesday it will invest 402.7 billion won ($337.4 million) in the development of processing-in-memory (PIM) chips, in addition to the 1 trillion won it pledged earlier to spend on artificial intelligence semiconductors over nine years to 2029. PIM semiconductors are known as next-generation AI chips with higher processing efficiency. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it discussed ways to advance the AI industry with AI experts from Samsung Electronics, L