[THE INVESTOR] Analysts raised Samsung Electronics’ stock price target to a maximum 2 million won (US$1,800) per share after the shares closed at an all-time high Aug. 18. On the day, the price soared to a record 1.64 million won, up 4.73 percent from the day before. The previous record was 1.57 million won, set Jan. 2, 2013. Analysts said the company’s upbeat outlook on smartphone and chip sales will continue to elevate the shares. Expectations are growing for the latest smartphone Galaxy Note

[THE INVESTOR] Naver, the Korean internet giant that owns immensely popular mobile messenger LINE, said on Aug. 18 it will make a fresh investment into stylus start-up Widevantage. The company said Naver D2 Startup Factory, its start-up accelerator, will carry out the investment, though it didn’t specify an amount. Together with the funding, it plans to offer residential office space, infrastructure and business consultations. Widevantage’s flagship product MotionPenEstablished in 2013, Widevant

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Rotem, the train-making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, has won a 1.1 trillion won (US$994 million) train supply deal in Australia, the company said on Aug. 18. The contract marks the company’s largest ever. Hyundai Rotem’s double-decker train will be supplied to the Australian state of New South Wales. Hyundai RotemUnder the deal, the company will supply 512 double-decker trains to the Australian state of New South Wales, along with an optional 136 trains. The shipments will

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Group’s five affiliates have cut 5,700 employees in the first half of this year, the companies said in their semiannual reports. The companies include Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T, five of the group’s 15 listed companies. Samsung SDI, the battery-making unit, shed the largest 15 percent, or 1,662 people, since the sell-off of its chemicals business to Lotte Group. The total employee number was 9,422. 

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng on Aug. 17 hinted the Korean carmaker was in talks with US internet giant Google on a possible partnership for self-driving technology. “It is true that we are communicating with Google,” he told reporters after an industrial meeting with the trade minister in Seoul. “We are seeking ways to collaborate.”Google is one of the leading players in terms of self-driving technology. Its test-drive course with global carmakers such as Toyota and For

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Mobis, the parts-making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, is in talks with Israel’s self-driving tech firm Mobileye for possible partnership, a news report said Aug. 17. According to Seoul Economic Daily, Mobileye has tentatively agreed to offer its chips for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems to the Korean firm. Hyundai Mobis has poured resources into self-driving technology together with Hyundai Motor. The possible partnership could speed up its ongoing research efforts, the

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is expected to see preorders for its latest Galaxy Note 7 smartphone exceed 400,000 units on its home turf, nearly triple the figure for the Galaxy S7 and its Edge variant, which launched in March. According to industry sources on Aug. 17, preorders for the larger-screen Note phone have already reached some 350,000 units and are likely to reach the 400,000 mark before the preorder period ends Aug. 18. In Korea, a phone selling some 10,000 units is considered a

[THE INVESTOR] CJ HelloVision, the nation’s No. 1 cable TV operator, said on Aug. 17 it has named Byun Dong-sik, senior vice president and chief of management support, as the company’s new co-CEO. The 56-year-old previously served as the company’s CEO between 2008 and 2013. After its failed attempt to merge with SK Telecom in July, CJ HelloVision is seeking to breathe fresh air into the company. Byun will lead the firm together with current CEO Kim Jin-seok.  CJ HelloVision co-CEOs Byun Dong-sik

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics plans to start producing automotive parts for General Motor’s fully electric Chevrolet Bolt at its research center in Incheon, some 40 kilometers west of Seoul, from later this month. The Korean tech giant confirmed on Aug. 17 that it has recently installed a large-scale production line at the Incheon campus that has mostly been used for research activities. The upcoming GM Chevrolet Bolt“The production line aims to seek synergies among research and production organ

[THE INVESTOR] LG Hausys and Hanwha Chemical are joining the heated bidding war to acquire Continental Structural Plastics, the US vehicle lightweight technology developer. The two firms submitted separate letters of intent to win the deal worth up to US$700 million over the weekend, while Germany’s BASF and Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors are also said to have joined the bidding war.LG Hausys, the materials unit of LG Group, had planned to create a consortium with its sister firm LG Chem, but the che

[THE INVESTOR] Shipments of organic light-emitting diode panels for mobile use are estimated to exceed 300 million units this year and a whopping 1 billion units by 2019, a market research firm predicted on Aug. 16. Currently, Samsung Electronics dominates the market with nearly 97 percent of smaller OLED sales.  The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge uses flexible OLED to feature a curved display screen. The curvy model has outsold its flat-screen sibling. Samsung ElectronicsAccording to UBI Research, ship

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is expected to double shipments of its latest smartphone Galaxy Note 7 compared to those of its predecessor Note 5, a news report said on Aug. 16. According to local news daily Chosun Biz, the Korean tech giant will produce a monthly average of 3 million units of the Note large-size smartphone in the third quarter, which compares to some 1.6 million units for the Note 5 last year. Samsung Electronics’ mobile business chief Koh Dong-jinConsidering the upbeat pre

[THE INVESOTR] The Fair Trade Commission plans to charge CJ Group for illegal inter-subsidiary transactions, industry sources said Aug. 16. The antitrust watchdog has recently found that CJ CGV, the food and entertainment giant’s multiplex chain, has ordered from its sister ad affiliate JS Communications, owned by CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun’s younger brother Lee Jay-hwan. Inter-unit trading is not illegal here but is subject to criminal charges when it is used to elevate sales and stock pric

[THE INVESTOR] Shinsegae Duty Free store has succeeded in bringing in Louis Vuitton, one of the most coveted luxury brands, according to industry sources on Aug. 12.“Louis Vuitton will open a boutique in Shinseage Duty Free’s fashion luxury zone in April 2017,” said a company official following negotiations with the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy Group. This is the second Louis Vuitton store slated to open at a downtown duty-free store recently granted license. Along with Chanel and Hermes, the Fren

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Securities on Aug. 12 elevated the target price of Samsung Electronics to 1.8 million won (US$1,600) from the previous 1.65 million won considering upbeat chip and device sales. “We have adjusted the price as the figure is approaching a record high,” said Hang Min-seong, analyst at the securities firm. He also increased the earnings estimates to 7.7 trillion won for the third quarter and 7.5 trillion won for the fourth quarter, citing positive signs of the company’s memory

[THE INVESTOR] The launch of Samsung Electronics’ new smartphone Galaxy Note 7 is being delayed in some markets due to short supply amid soaring preorders. The company announced that the new Note launch in the Netherlands is being delayed by a week from Sept. 2 to Sept. 9, citing soaring preorders in some markets, possibly the US and Korea. In South Korea alone, preorders exceeded 300,000 units since starting on Aug. 6, more than double those for the flagship Galaxy S7. The figure is the highest

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is expected to clear Google of antitrust charges on its preinstalled apps on Android devices considering the US internet giant’s tiny market share here. The antitrust watchdog has recently completed a probe into whether Google has increased its market share through its preinstalled mapping and search apps. The European Union is also conducting investigations into similar charges. “Google has preinstalled its own apps on Android devices as it does in E

[THE INVESTOR]  The nation’s immensely popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk saw its user growth slow in the second quarter, the operator Kakao Corp. said on Aug. 11. Kakao said in a conference call that KakaoTalk’s monthly active users increased to 310,000 in the April-June period, the lowest growth since 2014.Considering the number soared more than 1.1 million in the first quarter, the growth rate fell by almost one-third in the second quarter. The entire user number at 41.5 million was still on

[THE INVESTOR] Shinhan Card and Tongyang Asset Management have submitted bids to purchase the former head office building of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in central Seoul. The building was put up for sale after Samsung’s financial units moved their offices to Seocho-dong, southern Seoul. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s office building in central SeoulAccording to news reports on Aug. 11, Shinhan Card has keen interest in buying the 21-story skyscraper, offering more than 400 billion won (US

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has acquired US home appliance maker Dacor in its recent upscale push to appeal to luxe customers especially in the soaring built-in market in North America. Even though the Korean tech giant didn’t reveal the deal size, industry sources estimate it to be worth about US$150 million. The company said Dacor will become a wholly owned unit of US subsidiary Samsung Electronics America, adding that there will be no changes to its branding, operations or manufacturin