https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/60411/feed Samsung Electronics is a key subsidiary of Samsung Group, a South Korean multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It is the largest South Korean chaebol. Other key subsidiaries include Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Reuters Reuters South Korea on Tuesday unveiled its most aggressive financial spending plan on record, setting total government expenditure for 2027 at 821 trillion won (US$600 billion) to strengthen the country’s technological edge amid the global AI race. In its annual budget proposal, the budget ministry said the spending plan ‌represented a 12.8 per cent rise from 2026, marking the largest year-on-year increase in the country’s history. The proposal signals a shift in Asia’s fourth-largest economy under... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365922/south-korea-sets-record-us600-billion-budget-backed-chip-windfall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365922/south-korea-sets-record-us600-billion-budget-backed-chip-windfall?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Sep 2026 04:18:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters South Korea’s chief presidential policy adviser has resigned, the presidential Blue House said on Tuesday, after President Lee Jae ‌Myung reshuffled his cabinet and senior aides amid a drop in his approval rating. Kim Yong-beom was a key adviser to Lee on economic policy, including on housing and ⁠stock market issues. Kim had offered to step down from the post on Monday, which oversees the administration’s economic and domestic policy agenda. During his term, Kim had drawn criticism over the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365912/south-koreas-top-presidential-aide-resigns-following-cabinet-reshuffle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365912/south-koreas-top-presidential-aide-resigns-following-cabinet-reshuffle?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Sep 2026 02:15:05 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times In 1984, Ha Tae-jun, then 24, spotted a notice recruiting for a special unit at the Military Manpower Administration office in central Seoul’s Yongsan district. The notice was scrawled on the wall in marker, with little explanation. Ha applied, and his life was changed forever – training as a South Korean operative for covert missions into North Korea. “About a month after submitting background check documents, they said I’d passed and told me to meet at a cafe near my house,” said Ha, now 66... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365382/south-korean-ex-spy-reveals-toll-secret-missions-north-treated-expendable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365382/south-korean-ex-spy-reveals-toll-secret-missions-north-treated-expendable?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:46:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor and the union representing its workers have reached a tentative deal on wages and bonuses, both sides said on Tuesday after a rare full-day strike. Around 40,000 employees of a roughly 73,000-strong domestic workforce at the country’s largest carmaker walked off the job on Friday, according to union figures, in the first such action for a decade. The union said on Monday that it had returned to talks with the company and had postponed shorter strikes planned... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365184/south-koreas-hyundai-union-agree-tentative-wage-deal-after-rare-full-day-strike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3365184/south-koreas-hyundai-union-agree-tentative-wage-deal-after-rare-full-day-strike?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:46:46 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Some of Nvidia’s biggest customers have been told that the prices of servers containing its artificial intelligence chips are going up more than 15 per cent in many cases with memory chip costs soaring. The price rises will go into effect on systems shipped early next year and will impact systems including those with the flagship Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chips, according to people familiar with the process, who asked not to be identified commenting on communications that have not yet been... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3364945/nvidia-customers-notified-ai-related-price-rises-above-15?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3364945/nvidia-customers-notified-ai-related-price-rises-above-15?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Aug 2026 21:54:25 +0000 Nicholas Spiro Nicholas Spiro These are testing times for the artificial intelligence (AI) trade that has been driving global equity markets. No other investment theme comes close to rivalling the importance of the AI boom as the world’s largest technology companies spend vast sums of money on data centres, memory chips and computing power. At the same time, no other risk divides opinion more than the threat of a dramatic and sustained sell-off in AI-related stocks. According to the latest Bank of America global fund manager... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3363845/could-china-be-hedge-against-risk-ai-investment-boom-going-bust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3363845/could-china-be-hedge-against-risk-ai-investment-boom-going-bust?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao China’s top two contract chipmakers, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor, saw their profits surge by triple digits in the second quarter, amid a spike in demand for domestic artificial intelligence chips free of US export controls. Net profits for SMIC and Hua Hong jumped 261.7 per cent and 385.9 per cent year on year to US$479.2 million and US$38.6 million, respectively, in the June quarter. SMIC, the country’s largest foundry, said... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3363929/ai-demand-drives-triple-digit-quarterly-profit-growth-chinese-foundries-smic-hua-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3363929/ai-demand-drives-triple-digit-quarterly-profit-growth-chinese-foundries-smic-hua-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:00:10 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC) has broken into the world’s top three NAND flash memory suppliers by volume for the first time, marking a milestone for China’s semiconductor ambitions as it strives to narrow the revenue gap with global rivals in high-value data-centre storage. The Wuhan-based chipmaker captured 14 per cent of global NAND bit shipments – a measure of total storage capacity shipped rather than total chip units – in the second quarter, narrowly overtaking Japan’s... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3363854/chinas-ymtc-breaks-global-top-three-flash-memory-suppliers-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3363854/chinas-ymtc-breaks-global-top-three-flash-memory-suppliers-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:00:08 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu A venture capital fund backed by Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), China’s top producer of NAND flash memory, has taken a stake in domestic semiconductor manufacturer SOI Micro, adding a high-profile investor to the country’s push for an alternative chipmaking ecosystem. Led by a prominent figure in China’s semiconductor industry, SOI Micro is focused on developing fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology – a low-power chipmaking technology that offers a complementary route... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3363797/fund-backed-china-memory-giant-ymtc-invests-push-alternative-chipmaking-route?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3363797/fund-backed-china-memory-giant-ymtc-invests-push-alternative-chipmaking-route?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:00:07 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Chinese AI start-up ModelBest has kicked off its pre-initial public offering (IPO) tutoring process for a listing in mainland China, capitalising on growing demand for compact artificial intelligence models that run locally on devices like smartphones and laptops, and in cars. The four-year-old company also appears to be banking on its small-model strategy to overcome China’s acute shortage of advanced American computing chips by training lightweight systems optimised for domestic... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3363762/chinese-ai-start-modelbest-kicks-pre-ipo-tutoring-process-mainland-listing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3363762/chinese-ai-start-modelbest-kicks-pre-ipo-tutoring-process-mainland-listing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Aug 2026 07:26:50 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s financial authorities are weighing tighter curbs on high-risk leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as part of broader efforts to stabilise the country’s notoriously volatile stock market, which has left many investors with heavy losses and mounting debt. The proposals could include giving regulators the power to reduce the leverage ratio of single-stock ETFs and raising the minimum investment requirement to discourage inexperienced retail investors from taking excessive risks,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3362836/south-korea-tightens-grip-high-risk-etfs-investor-losses-mount?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3362836/south-korea-tightens-grip-high-risk-etfs-investor-losses-mount?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:18 +0000 Judy Xue Judy Xue Chinese families are fast retreating from real estate, with many holding large cash reserves now cautiously weighing stock investments, marking a stark contrast with South Korea, where retail investors are aggressively using leverage to fuel equity bets at home and abroad. Property’s share of household assets dropped to 52 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 from 67 per cent in mid-2021, while cash and bank deposits rose to 25 per cent from 16 per cent in the same period, according to a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/banking-finance/article/3362203/chinese-families-turn-cash-and-cautious-stock-bets-real-estate-avenues-narrow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/banking-finance/article/3362203/chinese-families-turn-cash-and-cautious-stock-bets-real-estate-avenues-narrow?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Aug 2026 01:00:08 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Zhongji Innolight fell on its trading debut after Hong Kong’s biggest initial public offering in seven years amid souring appetite worldwide for artificial intelligence (AI) shares. The stock closed down 2 per cent after earlier plunging as much as 10 per cent. Shenzhen-listed shares of Innolight, which supplies AI data-centre operators such as Amazon and Alphabet, tumbled 9.2 per cent, extending declines from a June peak to 38 per cent. Prior to the sell-off, the stock had surged almost 10-fold... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/business/companies/article/3362388/ai-stock-rout-fells-innolight-after-mega-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/business/companies/article/3362388/ai-stock-rout-fells-innolight-after-mega-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:06:47 +0000 David Kim David Kim Hwaseong, South Korea, past midnight. An engineer watches a defect pattern surface on her screen – the kind that, caught now, saves a week of wafers. She is locked in, fully absorbed, the way engineers get when a breakthrough is close. But she has to go home. The law says so. Yet something is disrupting the clock she races against. Artificial intelligence is quietly rewriting what her hours are worth. On June 29, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung stood alongside the leaders of Samsung... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3361805/era-defined-ai-can-work-still-be-measured-clock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3361805/era-defined-ai-can-work-still-be-measured-clock?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong China’s increasing clout in the global semiconductor supply chain is accelerating the unravelling of the artificial-intelligence trade, as expectations grow that the Asian nation will challenge foreign tech juggernauts by supplying the world with cheaper alternative products. The US$9.8 billion stock offering of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) in Shanghai provided the Chinese maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips with equity funding to finance its expansion of market share home... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3362256/cxmt-shock-how-chinas-viable-alternatives-punch-nvidia-micron-sk-hynix-shares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3362256/cxmt-shock-how-chinas-viable-alternatives-punch-nvidia-micron-sk-hynix-shares?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:00:16 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) could more than double from Monday’s close as the Chinese chipmaker expands its global dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) market share to 18 per cent by 2028, according to Nomura, which set a price target of 116 yuan. The listing of CXMT, the country’s top maker of DRAM chips, sparked investor momentum as its shares surged 466 per cent to close at 49 yuan. It has become the most valuable company listed on the mainland Chinese market. Its market cap... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3362012/what-cxmt-must-do-grow-global-memory-market-share-and-build-its-surge-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3362012/what-cxmt-must-do-grow-global-memory-market-share-and-build-its-surge-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:00:07 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong China’s state support for its stock markets may face a test, as seasoned US hedge fund manager Michael Burry increased bearish wagers on artificial intelligence-linked stocks and Moody’s warned of debt risks from hyperscalers. Burry, famed for his prescient short against the US property market before the 2008 global financial crisis, expanded positions against Nvidia, Micron Technology and an exchange-traded fund tracking the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Moody’s cautioned last week that... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3361950/big-short-trader-michael-burrys-rising-bearish-ai-positions-test-chinas-stock-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3361950/big-short-trader-michael-burrys-rising-bearish-ai-positions-test-chinas-stock-support?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, saw its shares close up 466 per cent on their Shanghai trading debut, giving the company a market capitalisation of 3.28 trillion yuan (US$484.6 billion) and making it mainland China’s most valuable onshore listing. The semiconductor champion’s Monday debut saw unprecedented trading volume, with turnover exceeding 140 billion yuan as CXMT became the first mainland-listed stock to cross the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3361926/chinas-cxmt-shares-rise-472-star-market-debut-valuing-dram-maker-us489-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3361926/chinas-cxmt-shares-rise-472-star-market-debut-valuing-dram-maker-us489-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jul 2026 01:46:37 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Samsung has revamped its foldable phone line-up, introducing a new entertainment-focused model that will compete with Apple’s imminent entry into the market. The South Korean technology giant is now offering three models: the US$1,200 Galaxy Z Flip 8, US$1,900 Z Fold 8 and US$2,100 Z Fold 8 Ultra. While the company has kept its long-running foldable design on the high-end Ultra model, the mid-tier Fold 8 – the version aimed at most consumers – has a shorter and wider style that is more ideal for... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/gadgets/article/3361581/latest-samsung-folding-phones-and-watches-including-new-z-fold-8-rival-apple?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/gadgets/article/3361581/latest-samsung-folding-phones-and-watches-including-new-z-fold-8-rival-apple?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:45:06 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Barely four months into its implementation, South Korea’s new labour-friendly law is coming under growing scrutiny as workers’ demands for bonuses tied to a fixed percentage of corporate profits spread across the country. If left unchecked, critics warn, the revised Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act – commonly known as the Yellow Envelope Act – could fuel labour disputes, create uncertainty for businesses and threaten an economy that is only beginning to recover. At the heart of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3361662/south-korean-unions-use-new-labour-rules-push-envelope-bonus-demands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3361662/south-korean-unions-use-new-labour-rules-push-envelope-bonus-demands?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:30:06 +0000 Nicholas Spiro Nicholas Spiro For the most dramatic change in a benchmark index in financial markets in recent years, look no further than the stock markets of developing economies. Just over a year ago, mainland China and India had a combined weight of 50 per cent in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Fast forward to today, and it is South Korea and Taiwan that account for over half of the gauge. At the end of last month, the weight of South Korea in the index stood at nearly 24 per cent, four percentage points more than that... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3361547/ai-trade-keeps-capital-and-risks-flowing-emerging-markets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3361547/ai-trade-keeps-capital-and-risks-flowing-emerging-markets?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:30:08 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Labour unions are rallying across South Korea after Samsung Electronics caved in to protests and agreed to hand out bonuses of more than US$400,000 to some of its employees. Just this week, assembly-line workers at Hyundai Motor staged a three-day partial strike as they seek up to 30 per cent of consolidated profit to be set aside for bonuses. Meanwhile, unions at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and telecoms operator LG Uplus want payouts equivalent to at least 30 per cent of operating profit, while... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3361526/south-korean-labour-unions-push-higher-payouts-after-samsungs-us400000-bonus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3361526/south-korean-labour-unions-push-higher-payouts-after-samsungs-us400000-bonus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jul 2026 02:35:07 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu More than 9.4 million investor accounts applied for shares in the blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), with retail demand reaching about 212 times the shares initially available online. Investors submitted valid applications for nearly 817 billion shares on Thursday, according to an official announcement published Thursday night. The response highlights the intense appetite for China’s leading producer of dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, as... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360892/chinese-memory-giant-cxmt-oversubscribed-212-times-mega-shanghai-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360892/chinese-memory-giant-cxmt-oversubscribed-212-times-mega-shanghai-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jul 2026 07:00:06 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Chinese technology stocks trading in Hong Kong are emerging as beneficiaries of tumult in the South Korean market, analysts say, pointing to investors rotating out of crowded bets and into undervalued assets, positioning for a rebound. The Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks Alibaba and other key Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech companies, has risen about 10 per cent from a June 26 low. Meanwhile, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) has technically slid into a bear market after a 20 per... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3360904/south-koreas-turbulence-seen-boon-hong-kong-stocks-capital-migration-under-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3360904/south-koreas-turbulence-seen-boon-hong-kong-stocks-capital-migration-under-way?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jul 2026 05:59:53 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu As soon as ChangXin Memory Technologies opened its blockbuster initial public offering to public subscription on Thursday morning, Luo Yi applied for 86,000 shares – despite acknowledging that she knew little about the semiconductor industry. The 60-year-old stock investor from southwestern Sichuan province was encouraged by her securities account manager, who told her that CXMT’s unusually large share sale could produce a higher allotment rate than most Chinese mainland IPOs. Luo’s application... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360822/cxmts-mega-ipo-draws-frenzy-retail-investors-deepseek-founders-fund?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360822/cxmts-mega-ipo-draws-frenzy-retail-investors-deepseek-founders-fund?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:06 +0000 The Korea Times,Bloomberg The Korea Times,Bloomberg Jensen Huang, chief executive of US artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, held a “yakitori summit” with Japanese executives from semiconductor materials and components companies while visiting Tokyo – a move appeared aimed at strengthening cooperation with local businesses. According to the Nikkei, Huang headed to a yakitori restaurant near Kanda Station in Tokyo, an izakaya specialising in grilled pork skewers and sake, on Wednesday. Located near Tokyo Station, the area is a popular... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3360794/nvidia-chief-jensen-huang-seals-japan-robotics-push-after-yakitori-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3360794/nvidia-chief-jensen-huang-seals-japan-robotics-push-after-yakitori-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:52:10 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong The volatile state of South Korean stocks is reminiscent for some investors of China’s rapid boom-to-bust cycle a decade ago, analysts say, when leveraged trading fuelled a meltdown that eventually wiped US$5 trillion from the market within months. The South Korean stock market’s frantic artificial intelligence trade has many similarities to China’s markets in 2015, when record-high outstanding margin debts and a retail frenzy led to government intervention that eventually deflated the stock... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3360766/what-does-south-koreas-kospi-chaos-mean-chinas-markets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3360766/what-does-south-koreas-kospi-chaos-mean-chinas-markets?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:00:08 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times The feud between Samsung Electronics’ device-making and chipmaking divisions is deepening, as employees in the smartphone and home appliance businesses are expressing anger over a nearly 100-fold compensation gap between them and employees in the chipmaking division. Samsung Electronics Company Union (SECU), which is mostly made up of employees in the appliance-making Device Experience (DX) division, will hold a rally under a “same company, same rights” slogan at the company’s plant in Suwon,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3360636/us402000-bonus-splits-samsung-device-and-chip-workers-anger-feud-mount?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3360636/us402000-bonus-splits-samsung-device-and-chip-workers-anger-feud-mount?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:43:31 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu China’s leading memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has priced its Shanghai initial public offering at 8.66 yuan (US$1.28) apiece, positioning the company for the largest listing by a Chinese semiconductor company on a mainland bourse. The firm, based in Hefei, Anhui province, is expected to raise gross proceeds of 57.9 billion yuan (US$8.5 billion) from the sale of nearly 6.7 billion shares, according to an offering announcement released on Tuesday. The shares represent 10... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360615/china-memory-giant-cxmt-valued-us85-billion-record-shanghai-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360615/china-memory-giant-cxmt-valued-us85-billion-record-shanghai-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:28:01 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu When ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) – China’s attempt to build a home-grown rival to the world’s top makers of memory chips – kicked off one of the country’s most anticipated initial public offerings (IPOs) of 2026 last week, the spotlight fell on its founder Zhu Yiming. The Shanghai offering, set to start taking subscriptions on Thursday, aims to raise 29.5 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion). And some analysts predict that CXMT could eventually command a market value of 3 trillion yuan, placing... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360285/meet-cxmts-zhu-yiming-engineer-building-chinas-answer-global-memory-chip-giants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3360285/meet-cxmts-zhu-yiming-engineer-building-chinas-answer-global-memory-chip-giants?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jul 2026 02:00:27 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Chinese memory giant ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) kicked off the final stage of its Shanghai listing, setting a subscription date for a share offering that is expected to raise at least 29.5 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) and would rank as the second-largest on the tech-focused Star Market. China’s leading DRAM maker, based in Hefei in the central province of Anhui, will hold its initial price consultation on Monday and open subscriptions on July 16. The initial public offering (IPO) will... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3359955/chinas-top-dram-maker-sets-date-us43b-shanghai-ipo-amid-memory-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3359955/chinas-top-dram-maker-sets-date-us43b-shanghai-ipo-amid-memory-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:49:57 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao A panic over excess computing capacity for artificial intelligence was “erroneous”, according to a report by research firm SemiAnalysis, after a global sell-off erased billions of dollars in value from semiconductor stocks on Thursday. Spooked investors interpreted a potential pivot by Meta Platforms into cloud services as a sign of an AI hardware glut, as they feared the US tech giant was preparing to flood the market with unused graphics processing units. Shares of alternative cloud companies... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3359278/ai-computing-stock-panic-over-meta-cloud-rumour-erroneous-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3359278/ai-computing-stock-panic-over-meta-cloud-rumour-erroneous-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:28:31 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu As China’s leading DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) prepares for its expected 29.5 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) Shanghai Star Market listing, the critical question facing investors is whether the firm can convert its cyclical windfall into permanent industry leadership. The Hefei-based chipmaker enters the market at a uniquely lucrative moment: a global memory shortage driven by surging artificial intelligence computing demand has triggered a massive upcycle in pricing, delivering... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3359168/inside-cxmts-us43b-ipo-soaring-profits-meet-us-export-threat-and-high-stakes-hbm-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3359168/inside-cxmts-us43b-ipo-soaring-profits-meet-us-export-threat-and-high-stakes-hbm-race?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:46:50 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Hong Kong stocks have trailed other major global markets in the first half of the year, a trend analysts said could persist as sluggish consumer spending weighs on Chinese internet platforms and an entrenched AI trade risks widening the performance gap. A glut of stocks from the expiry of IPO lock-up periods could pose a further threat this quarter, prompting the city’s exchange to respond quickly with countervailing measures. These included lowering trading barriers for individual investors, a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3359046/can-hong-kong-absorb-us100-billion-newly-tradable-shares-amid-global-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3359046/can-hong-kong-absorb-us100-billion-newly-tradable-shares-amid-global-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:30:13 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s US$518 billion semiconductor push aims to transform the artificial intelligence boom into a durable industrial advantage and keep up with leading rival China, according to observers. The plan is intended to secure supplies of advanced memory chips needed for AI data centres and computing infrastructure, while easing pressure on the Seoul metropolitan area by creating a second major chipmaking base in the country’s southwest. President Lee Jae Myung on Monday unveiled the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3358792/how-south-koreas-ai-megaprojects-aim-maintain-edge-over-china-meet-demand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3358792/how-south-koreas-ai-megaprojects-aim-maintain-edge-over-china-meet-demand?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:16 +0000 Reuters Reuters South Korea rolled out sweeping chip and AI megaprojects on Monday, as President Lee Jae Myung pledged to cement overwhelming industry leadership with investments worth more than US$576 billion over several years. The announcement marks ⁠Lee’s boldest push yet to align South Korea’s AI and chip ambitions with ‌his pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. Lee was joined by the leaders of ‌Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3358719/south-korea-unveils-us650-billion-megaprojects-dominate-global-ai-chip-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3358719/south-korea-unveils-us650-billion-megaprojects-dominate-global-ai-chip-market?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jun 2026 06:09:17 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Singapore’s cooling strategy, pioneered by founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, has come in for praise in Europe, which is sweltering under a deadly heatwave. Even Tesla founder and world’s first trillionaire Elon Musk has weighed in, calling the late statesman “a genius”. Record-breaking temperatures in countries including Britain, France and Germany have killed dozens, overwhelmed hospitals and led to the closure of schools and cultural sites. Mercury in Paris hit a June record of 40.9... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/health-environment/article/3358486/europe-turns-singapore-keep-its-cool-during-deadly-heatwave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/health-environment/article/3358486/europe-turns-singapore-keep-its-cool-during-deadly-heatwave?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jun 2026 08:29:55 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Wednesday afternoon after a jittery morning session, bucking overnight tumult in US markets spurred by concerns over frothy tech company valuations and an unwinding of leveraged bets on South Korean chipmakers. The Hang Seng Index had risen 0.3 per cent to 23,412.18 by market close, after a seesawing morning session with multiple changes of direction. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.8 per cent, while mainland China’s CSI 300 Index added 0.5 per cent. A rebound in... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3358123/hong-kong-stocks-rebound-contrast-overnight-sell-offs-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3358123/hong-kong-stocks-rebound-contrast-overnight-sell-offs-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jun 2026 01:50:24 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s AI-driven semiconductor boom has sent exports, corporate profits and stock prices to record highs, but a senior policymaker has warned that the windfall could fuel property speculation and deepen inequality if its gains remain narrowly concentrated. “Looking solely at the numbers, it is something to cheer about. However, strangely, a corner of my heart feels heavy,” Kim Yong-beom, chief of the Presidential Policy Office and one of South Korea’s most senior economic policymakers,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3357950/why-south-koreas-ai-chip-boom-serious-concern-its-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3357950/why-south-koreas-ai-chip-boom-serious-concern-its-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Emma Ma Emma Ma Two major Japanese chemical manufacturers could halt production of a gas crucial to AI chipmaking starting next month, as supply tightens and prices surge amid Beijing’s export controls on tungsten. The price of tungsten hexafluoride has jumped more than 200 per cent year on year because of supply bottlenecks, coupled with rising chip demand, market data showed. The gas is a critical precursor in the semiconductor industry, where it is used to develop the microscopic connections inside advanced... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3356921/do-chinas-export-curbs-tungsten-threaten-japans-ai-chip-supply-chain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3356921/do-chinas-export-curbs-tungsten-threaten-japans-ai-chip-supply-chain?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jun 2026 07:00:06 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Chinese memory module maker Biwin has signed a two-year agreement worth US$1.86 billion to secure flash memory chips, a deal larger than its annual revenue, as demand from artificial intelligence servers and data centres squeezes supply. Under the locked-volume, locked-price arrangement, Biwin would buy enterprise-grade chips in batches from the third quarter of 2026 through the second quarter of 2028, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The supplier was not... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3356752/beat-chip-crunch-chinese-firm-inks-memory-deal-bigger-its-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3356752/beat-chip-crunch-chinese-firm-inks-memory-deal-bigger-its-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:00:28 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen SpaceX’s planned mega-listing on Friday is expected to add momentum to the global satellite industry, as Elon Musk’s rocket and connectivity giant pushes beyond satellite broadband into direct-to-cell services and space-based solar power and artificial intelligence (AI) computing, according to a report released on Monday. TrendForce, a Taiwan-based market research consulting firm, expects the global satellite industry to grow at an annual rate of about 14 per cent, reaching US$447 billion by... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-war/article/3356375/spacex-ipo-set-lift-industry-push-space-based-ai-computing-solar-power-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-war/article/3356375/spacex-ipo-set-lift-industry-push-space-based-ai-computing-solar-power-report?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:30:06 +0000 Yulu Ao Yulu Ao This article was first published by The Korea Times in a partnership with the South China Morning Post. Two of China’s leading memory-chip makers are moving closer to public listings, posing a significant long-term challenge to South Korean giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, despite a limited immediate threat, according to analysts. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) producer, won approval last week for its nearly 30-billion-yuan... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3356130/chinese-memory-makers-step-challenge-koreas-chip-champions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3356130/chinese-memory-makers-step-challenge-koreas-chip-champions?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:00:13 +0000 Zhang Shidong,Peggy Ye Zhang Shidong,Peggy Ye Signs are omnipresent that mainland Chinese investors are rotating out of Hong Kong stocks and back to the onshore yuan-denominated market, as they recalibrate to add domestic exposure to the fervour surrounding the artificial intelligence buildout. Onshore investors sold a combined HK$3.6 billion (US$459.5 million) of Hong Kong stocks through the cross-border exchange link programme in May, marking the first monthly outflow in three years, according to data from the city’s... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3355963/hong-kong-stocks-struggle-mainland-china-markets-ride-ai-wave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3355963/hong-kong-stocks-struggle-mainland-china-markets-ride-ai-wave?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 23:00:09 +0000 Nicholas Spiro Nicholas Spiro For a sign of how the fierce demand for memory chips triggered by the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) is benefiting technology-driven economies, look no further than South Korea. Last month, exports from Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew at a blistering rate of 53 per cent in annualised terms, the fastest pace since 1984. Shipments of semiconductors, which are used to store and funnel the huge amounts of data for AI services, increased nearly 170 per cent to a record monthly high of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3355904/how-ai-chip-boom-has-made-south-korea-victim-its-own-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3355904/how-ai-chip-boom-has-made-south-korea-victim-its-own-success?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:30:06 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Chinese smartphone makers are preparing for their most challenging year since the Covid-19 pandemic, as analysts say skyrocketing memory chip prices are forcing brands to make a difficult choice: absorb the higher costs, raise retail prices or downgrade storage configurations. In a report published on Monday, market research firm Counterpoint projected that global smartphone shipments would plunge nearly 14 per cent this year to about 1.08 billion units – the industry’s lowest volume since... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3355655/huawei-defies-memory-chip-squeeze-hurting-xiaomi-smartphones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3355655/huawei-defies-memory-chip-squeeze-hurting-xiaomi-smartphones?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:18:08 +0000 Yeon Woo Lee Yeon Woo Lee As his eight-year-old son blew out the candles on his birthday cake in February, Choi Nam-joon gave him a present he hopes will keep growing long after the party ends: three shares of Samsung Electronics. The shares, worth a total of about 500,000 won (US$332) at the time, were added to the boy’s brokerage account, part of a plan the 42-year-old South Korean office worker sees as the most realistic way to help his son build wealth. Choi’s family cannot afford to buy a home in one of Seoul’s most... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3355564/property-portfolios-asias-families-rethink-inheritance-investments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3355564/property-portfolios-asias-families-rethink-inheritance-investments?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 22:00:06 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Microchip development has always been a race to build smaller and smaller transistors – the fundamental components of chip circuits. Now China’s Huawei Technologies wants to change the game entirely. Faced with US tech export restrictions that block its access to the world’s most advanced chipmaking machinery, Huawei is proposing a fundamental shift in semiconductor progress: stop obsessing over how small the transistors are and start focusing on how fast data moves through the system. It is a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3355314/huaweis-new-chip-scaling-law-true-breakthrough-or-mere-hype?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3355314/huaweis-new-chip-scaling-law-true-breakthrough-or-mere-hype?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2026 03:00:11 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong BOE Technology is on investors’ radar screens again after announcing its foray into a business linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure, causing the stock price of the Chinese maker of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) to rally following years of listlessness. Yuan-denominated shares of the world’s biggest LCD maker have surged more than 30 per cent in Shenzhen over the past week after the company said last week that it would partner with Corning, the US manufacturer of optical fibres and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3355026/30-rally-boe-tech-shows-how-ai-buildout-can-galvanise-chinese-lcd-maker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3355026/30-rally-boe-tech-shows-how-ai-buildout-can-galvanise-chinese-lcd-maker?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 May 2026 08:59:49 +0000 Coco Feng,Ann Cao,Iris Deng Coco Feng,Ann Cao,Iris Deng Huawei Technologies has engineered a workaround to one of China’s most crippling chipmaking bottlenecks, but analysts warn that the nation’s path to semiconductor independence is still constrained by manufacturing challenges. The US-sanctioned tech giant on Monday introduced a new scaling law and a chip architecture designed to deliver products equivalent to an advanced 1.4-nanometre processing node by 2031. If true, the innovation marks a significant milestone for Huawei, which has been cut off... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3354912/huaweis-new-chip-scaling-law-aims-sidestep-asml-chokepoint-hurdles-remain-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3354912/huaweis-new-chip-scaling-law-aims-sidestep-asml-chokepoint-hurdles-remain-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 May 2026 14:00:05 +0000