Category: Business

Business

South Korea Is Moving to Calm Its Markets as Bond Yields and Oil Prices Rise — But an Unexpected AI Debt Boom Is Adding to the Pressure

SEOUL — South Korea is stepping up efforts to shield its financial markets from a dangerous mix of rising global interest rates, expensive oil and renewed Middle East tensions — just as another unexpected force, the artificial intelligence investment boom, adds pressure to borrowing costs worldwide. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol convened financial officials on September 4 to review conditions in domestic and global markets and discuss possible stabilization measures as volatility intensifies.

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Business

Samsung Surges to 33% of Global HBM Market, Cutting SK Hynix’s Lead as HBM4 Battle Heats Up

SEOUL — The global race to supply the memory chips powering artificial intelligence is suddenly looking far more competitive. Samsung Electronics captured 33% of global high-bandwidth memory revenue in the second quarter of 2026, surging from just 21% in the previous quarter and dramatically narrowing the lead of longtime HBM frontrunner SK hynix, according to new data from Counterpoint Research. SK hynix remained firmly in first place with 50% of global HBM revenue, but its share slipped from

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Business

PLDT Is Chasing a Bigger Piece of the AI Boom—And Its Next Move Could Change Philippine Enterprise Tech

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT Inc. is positioning itself to capture a larger share of corporate technology spending as businesses accelerate investments in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and digital infrastructure. The telecommunications giant is moving beyond its traditional role as a connectivity provider, pursuing a broader “one enterprise” approach that brings together connectivity, cloud, managed IT, cybersecurity, data centers and other digital services under a more

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Business

Korean Investors Now Own 27% of a Major 3X U.S. Chip ETF — But Their Leveraged Bet Is Starting to Hit Trading Limits

South Korea's retail-investing army has become so deeply embedded in some of America's riskiest exchange-traded funds that Korean investors now own extraordinary portions of several U.S.-listed leveraged products. And the scale of that enthusiasm is beginning to collide with the infrastructure used to trade them. South Korean investors held about $5.24 billion of Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares, or SOXL, at the end of August, equivalent to roughly 27% of the fund's $19.3 billion ma

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Business

LG Is Bringing Nvidia, Google, Amazon and Microsoft to Seoul — But EXAONE May Be the Real Story

South Korea's LG Group is turning its biggest annual technology gathering into something much more ambitious: a showcase of how artificial intelligence could reshape everything from household robots and factories to data centers, cars and corporate work. LG SPARK 2026, scheduled for Sept. 7 to Sept. 17 at LG Sciencepark in Magok, western Seoul, will bring together LG researchers and executives with developers and representatives from some of the world's largest technology companies, including N

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Business

Kolmar Korea Takes K-Beauty Into Paris Fashion’s Inner Circle — And the Bigger Opportunity May Be Luxury Brand Deals

Kolmar Korea has made its debut at Première Vision Paris, one of the world’s most influential fashion sourcing events, becoming what the company describes as the first Korean cosmetics manufacturer invited to the show. The appearance matters for more than prestige. Première Vision is increasingly encouraging fashion companies to expand beyond clothes and accessories into beauty, fragrance, skincare and wellness — sectors that can turn a fashion label into a much broader lifestyle business. Kol

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Business

Korean Stocks Surge as AI Chip Export Boom Fuels KOSPI Rally — But a New U.S. Rate Shock Could Test the Momentum

South Korea’s stock market delivered another powerful rally Friday as foreign investors piled back into some of the country’s biggest technology names, propelled by extraordinary semiconductor exports and hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve might hold interest rates steady. But just hours after Seoul closed, Wall Street received fresh economic data that could make the next move much less predictable. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or KOSPI, climbed 107.73 points, or 1.64%, to

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Business

Fake Goods Keep Coming Back Online Despite Aggressive Takedowns — Now the Fight Is Shifting to the Sellers Behind Them

MANILA — Philippine e-commerce platforms are removing counterfeit listings at increasingly high rates. Government agencies are issuing hundreds of takedown orders. Police and Customs are seizing billions of pesos worth of illicit products. Yet consumer advocates say the fake-goods problem is far from solved. Consumer advocacy group Malayang Konsyumer has urged the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, or IPOPHL, to intensify enforcement against counterfeit and unregulated products s

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Business

Hyundai And POSCO Just Broke Ground On A $5.8B U.S Steel Giant – But One Permit Still Hangs Over The Project

Hyundai Steel has officially broken ground on a $5.8 billion steel mill in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, joining forces with rival POSCO as well as Hyundai Motor and Kia to create what could become a critical new link in Hyundai Motor Group's North American automotive supply chain. The ceremonial groundbreaking took place on September 4, more than a year after Hyundai Motor Group first unveiled the project at the White House in March 2025. Commercial production is targeted for 2029. But the pro

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Business

South Korea Presses U.S. for Tariff Relief as Hyundai-POSCO Launch $5.8 Billion Louisiana Steel Mill

South Korea is pushing Washington for additional tariff relief just as Hyundai Steel and POSCO move ahead with one of the biggest Korean industrial investments ever undertaken in the United States — a $5.8 billion next-generation steel mill in Louisiana. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan raised the issue with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry ahead of the ceremonial launch of the Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel project in Ascension Parish, asking U.S. authorities to ease tariff burdens on specialized equi

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