The Korean government eased aggregate household loan limits for banks in August 2026, citing a shortage of loan supply, but first-tier lenders are shutting their windows even more tightly to mid-to-low credit borrowers. Faced with deteriorating asset soundness, banks are using the relaxed limits only to fill their books with safe assets centered on ultra-high credit borrowers rather than supplying new credit to vulnerable groups, creating a paradox where the regulatory easing is accelerating credit polarization and borrower exclusion in the market.

According to disclosures on the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) consumer portal on Nov. 9, the average Korea Credit Bureau (KCB) credit score of borrowers who took out new household loans (including mortgage loans) from 13 Korean banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NongHyup, iM, Busan, Kyongnam, Kwangju, Jeonbuk, Kakao, Toss, and K bank) in September was 928. That is up 2 points from 926 in August and marks the sixth consecutive monthly increase since April. On a 1,000-point scale, a score of 900 or above corresponds to the top 1–2 grades under the old rating system, the highest-quality prime borrower segment. Yet an abnormal credit inflation has now become entrenched, where even borrowers with scores around 900 find it difficult to clear the first-tier lending threshold.

In particular, thresholds at regional banks and internet-only banks—whose main mandates were financial inclusion for mid-to-low credit borrowers and supply of credit to local working-class households—have risen steeply. The average credit score at the three internet-only banks—Kakao, Toss, and K bank—jumped to 943 in September. That is a surge of 12 points in eight months from 931 in January, reaching a level virtually indistinguishable from the 944 average at the five major commercial banks. This contrasts with the five major commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NongHyup), whose average credit score edged down from 947 in January and has since stagnated. The result is that even internet-only banks, which were licensed on the condition of expanding credit to mid-credit borrowers, are now focused on attracting prime borrowers.

The five regional banks (iM, Busan, Kyongnam, Kwangju, and Jeonbuk) are in the same situation. Their average credit score for new loans in September was 903, up 8 points from 895 in January and breaking through the 900 mark. The intermediate financial ladder that borrowers excluded from large banks used to climb has effectively disappeared.

The reason banks are locking their lending gates even tighter is the steep rise in delinquency rates. At the end of the third quarter, the household loan delinquency rate at the five major commercial banks was 0.33%, up only 0.03 percentage point from 0.30% a year earlier, but the average at the five regional banks surged 0.26 percentage point to 1.23%. As nonperforming loans accumulate amid the regional economic slump and prolonged high interest rates, banks urgently need to defend their soundness indicators, so they are reducing the share of vulnerable borrowers and tightening new credit screening around safe collateralized loans.

This defensive behavior by banks is fueling the side effect of shifting credit risk outside the financial system. Mid-credit borrowers with scores in the 800s and multiple-debt borrowers who are pushed out of first-tier lenders have no choice but to turn to non-bank lenders or private lenders, but non-bank lenders such as savings banks and credit card companies are also slashing new loans due to rising funding costs and deteriorating asset soundness. Even marginal borrowers whose repayment capacity has not collapsed now face a growing risk of being trapped in high-interest private lending.

Criticism of the policy's effectiveness is also hard to avoid. Authorities eased aggregate limits saying they would open up lending, but in the absence of detailed credit supply incentives for financial institutions or measures to cushion soundness shocks, the relaxed capacity is simply being absorbed by asset-rich borrowers refinancing their loans. In the Bank of Korea's loan behavior survey released on Oct. 26, domestic banks' attitude toward household lending in the fourth quarter is expected to tighten further. As long as commercial banks continue to weed out borrowers in the name of soundness management, whether the funding crunch for financially vulnerable groups will be resolved remains unclear.

After the COVID-19 pandemic ended, the shipping industry was gripped by fears of a downcycle. But geopolitical conflict has turned that into an unexpected boom. The prolonged Red Sea crisis and this year's US-Iran war have forced vessels to take longer routes, increasing sailing distances. As effective capacity shrank, freight rates for major vessel types, which had been falling since the second half of 2024, rebounded and remain elevated.

However, analysts say the current rate strength rests on short-term factors. If geopolitical risks ease and routes normalize, pent-up newbuild deliveries will hit the market, creating wide supply-demand gaps across vessel types. Container ships are expected to face the heaviest supply pressure. Korean shipping companies, scarred by the last prolonged downturn, are strengthening their crisis response through fleet restructuring and financial improvements.

According to a NICE Credit Rating report on shipping market conditions and supply-demand outlook by vessel type released on Nov. 9, the recent freight rate strength depends heavily on detours caused by geopolitical conflicts and increased long-haul commodity trade rather than cargo volume growth itself. Tanker rates in particular have soared since the US-Iran war broke out this year, jumping more than ninefold from the end of 2025 to record historic highs. Over the same period, the Baltic Dry Index rose 45% and the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index climbed 139%.

Container ships are seen as the most vulnerable to future supply-demand shifts. The current increase in container transport distance, measured in TEU-miles, relies heavily on detours around the Cape of Good Hope on Asia-Europe routes. At the same time, the container ship orderbook equals 40% of the existing fleet, meaning massive newbuild deliveries are scheduled. With some global carriers recently showing signs of partially resuming Suez Canal transits, a combination of route normalization and newbuild deliveries could sharply increase effective capacity and worsen the supply-demand balance.

Bulk carriers, by contrast, are supported by structural growth in long-haul trade. Despite slowing steel production due to China's property slump, rising imports of long-haul raw materials such as Brazilian iron ore and Guinean bauxite are underpinning transport demand. NICE Credit Rating expects bulk carrier ton-mile demand to hold at a certain level even if short-term geopolitical risks ease. Even if fleet growth accelerates from 2027, supply pressure is expected to be more limited than for other vessel types.

Tankers are enjoying strong market conditions amid a reshaping of crude oil trade patterns and operational restrictions in the Middle East. Newbuild orders have expanded recently on the back of unusually high rates, increasing medium- to long-term supply pressure. But the large share of older, high-age vessels provides some room to adjust supply through scrapping if rates fall. Still, analysts say current high tanker rates would be hard to sustain if Middle East conflicts subside.

The massive restructuring that hit the shipping industry during the global financial crisis was driven largely by expensive long-term charter rates and excessive debt. Today, major Korean shipping companies are assessed to have built stronger financial buffers than back then through business portfolio diversification and large-scale capital increases.

HMM, Korea's largest container carrier, has sharply increased the share of owned vessels and reduced its charter dependence from 56% in 2016 to 18% this year. By building a fleet centered on ultra-large newbuilds, it has lowered the average vessel age to 6.9 years and secured cost competitiveness. After riding the previous supercycle, HMM grew its capital from around 1 trillion won (about $738 million) at the end of 2019 to 29 trillion won (about $21 billion) as of the end of June this year, while cutting its debt ratio from 556.7% to 28.4%.

Bulk carrier and tanker operators are also preparing for uncertainty through flexible fleet management and long-term shipping contracts. Pan Ocean, a bulk carrier, keeps long-term charters of one year or more at about 12% of its total chartered fleet so it can respond quickly to market conditions. Major bulk carriers such as H-Line Shipping, Polaris Shipping and Korea Line Corporation, along with tanker operator SK Shipping, have increased the share of revenue from long-term contracts with creditworthy shippers to reduce earnings exposure to freight rate swings.

The future performance of the shipping industry hinges on the accumulated newbuild supply and the trajectory of geopolitical conflicts. Key factors to watch include when the Red Sea and Suez Canal fully normalize and how quickly supply-side measures such as scrapping older vessels and slow steaming are implemented as newbuild deliveries accelerate. These will determine whether the shipping market achieves a soft landing.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 9, 2026.)

Banks are turning to alternative credit evaluation to embrace borrowers with little financial transaction history. NH NongHyup Bank on Nov. 9 introduced the All One Bridge Model, a credit scoring model based on non-financial alternative data, into its loan screening. The move lowers the lending bar to bring in financially underserved groups, while a key question has emerged: whether non-financial data can precisely gauge a borrower's actual repayment capacity.

The model was developed by analyzing more than 10,000 alternative data points obtained by combining non-financial pseudonymized information held by nine institutions. Beyond telecom bill payment records and small-amount transaction data, which had been used only to a limited extent in traditional credit scoring, the model comprehensively reflects utility bill payment history, e-commerce shopping frequency, and consumption pattern data. These are used to quantify a customer's economic activity from multiple angles for loan screening.

In the past, bank credit evaluation relied overwhelmingly on financial records such as loan history and credit card usage. As a result, thin-filers—young adults just starting their careers, homemakers, retired seniors, and small business owners—found it difficult to obtain loans from first-tier banks or had to pay high interest rates even when they had income and a genuine willingness to repay. NongHyup Bank's adoption of alternative screening is seen as a strategy to absorb these borrowers in blind spots and secure potentially prime customers first.

The alternative credit evaluation market is already led by internet-only banks such as KakaoBank, which have delivered tangible supply results. KakaoBank has provided an additional 1.2 trillion won (about $886 million) in mid-to-low credit loans through its proprietary KakaoBank Score model, which combines data from eight institutions including retail and telecom companies. Major commercial banks such as Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank are also raising the competitive stakes by applying alternative evaluation models that combine non-financial data in their operations.

From a risk management perspective, however, incorporating non-financial data carries considerable uncertainty. Telecom and utility bill payments and online consumption patterns differ fundamentally from the heavy obligation of repaying bank loan principal and interest in terms of legal binding force. In other words, frequent shopping or timely utility payments do not necessarily mean a borrower can handle multiple-debt risk or repay loan principal and interest during an economic downturn. If the model merely boosts loan approval rates, noise or distortion in the alternative data combination process could boomerang into a surge in loan-loss provisions that erodes bank profitability.

The recent upward pressure on delinquency rates for loans to sole proprietors and mid-to-low credit borrowers makes verifying the alternative model's discriminatory power even more demanding. Aware of this default risk, NongHyup Bank chose to tighten its post-loan control network instead of lowering the new screening bar. It will split the maturity extension review system for existing borrowers, reassess each customer's credit risk level to strengthen follow-up management, and simplify and automate extension procedures only for prime customers with proven repayment capacity.

Ultimately, the success of alternative credit evaluation depends not on how many loans are extended but on whether the delinquency rate of incoming thin-filer borrowers can be stably held down to the level of prime borrowers. Whether the more than 10,000 non-financial alternative data points can serve as an early warning system that preemptively detects signs of borrower distress, and whether the model can continue to prove its credit risk discrimination amid economic volatility, will determine the future of asset soundness defense.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 9, 2026.)

The average interest rate on card loans fell to the 13% range in three months, but this is an illusion caused by benefits concentrated on high-credit borrowers. In reality, the proportion of credit-vulnerable borrowers paying rates near the legal maximum of 20% per year is growing. Credit card companies are imposing high add-on rates on low-credit borrowers pushed into card loans by first-tier lenders' loan curbs, citing asset soundness management.

According to the Credit Finance Association of Korea on Nov. 9, the average share of members in the 18–20% annual interest rate bracket at seven card-only issuers—Samsung, Shinhan, Hyundai, KB Kookmin, Lotte, Hana and Woori Card—stood at 25.9% as of end-September. That is up 2.9 percentage points from 23% a year earlier. More than one in four card loan users is paying interest just below the legal maximum.

In contrast, the average card loan rate at eight card-only issuers including BC Card was 13.55% as of end-September, down 0.55 percentage point from 14.10% the previous month and entering the 13% range. The average rate for prime borrowers with credit scores above 900 fell to around 10.9% per year, but the rate for low-credit borrowers with scores of 700 or below remained in the 17% range, unchanged from a year earlier. The decline in the average rate is merely a statistical result of increased mid-rate lending centered on prime borrowers, far from reducing the actual interest burden on vulnerable borrowers.

Looking at individual card companies, the concentration of high rates is even more pronounced. Hana Card's share of members in the 18–20% bracket surged 14.1 percentage points from 4.4% at end-September last year to 18.5% at end-September this year. Samsung Card and Hyundai Card also saw their high-rate borrower shares rise 8.6 percentage points from 29.1% to 37.7% and 8.4 percentage points from 23.6% to 32%, respectively, far exceeding 30%. The companies explained that they adjusted base rates to reflect changes in funding costs, but they cannot easily avoid criticism that they rapidly pushed vulnerable borrowers into high-rate brackets in a short period.

Some card companies such as Lotte Card and Woori Card saw slight declines in the share of maximum-rate borrowers, but it is hard to interpret this as a sign of improved asset soundness. Lotte Card's share of members in the 18–20% bracket fell 3.9 percentage points from 36.9% to 33%, but remained in the 30% range, while the share of low-rate members below 10% per year surged from 8.23% to 23.2%. This is closer to the result of adjusting the denominator and numerator by applying cut-off filtering that reduces credit limits or stops lending altogether to marginal borrowers with high delinquency risk. In effect, the company focused on weeding out risky borrowers rather than actually lowering rates.

This distorted rate structure is deepening polarization in tandem with banks' tightening of household loans. As lending thresholds such as the stressed debt service ratio (DSR) have risen, multiple-debt borrowers facing funding shortages have been pushed into non-bank lenders. As even savings banks and lenders have tightened new lending due to deteriorating asset soundness, demand has concentrated on card loans, the last resort for emergency cash. But card companies, citing the need to prevent asset deterioration, are imposing exorbitant add-on rates on borrowers with weak repayment capacity, accelerating credit risk.

The apparent decline in the average card loan rate masks the fundamental crisis that low-credit multiple-debt borrowers' repayment capacity has reached its limit. The business practice of charging high rates to vulnerable borrowers to earn short-term interest margins could become a self-defeating move that increases the likelihood of cascading defaults and nonpayment in the medium to long term. As card companies' credit operations, which have passed on higher funding costs entirely to low-credit borrowers, could come back as large-scale nonperforming loans, how solidly each card company secures proactive loss-absorbing capacity including loan-loss provisions will be a key indicator for defending year-end asset soundness.

Even though the Bank of Korea's base rate has stayed at 3.00% per annum, lending rates on the ground are climbing steeply and squeezing borrowers' repayment capacity. When the base rate is frozen, funding costs should stabilize and the rise in lending rates should ease, but commercial banks have instead raised their spreads and sharply reduced preferential rates in line with the financial authorities' stance on managing the total volume of household debt. With the pause in monetary policy having no effect and the shock of high rates concentrated on ordinary and small borrowers, a distorted structure is taking hold in which bank lending rates and delinquency rates are both at their highest levels in about a decade.

According to the weighted average interest rates of financial institutions for September released by the Bank of Korea on Oct. 29, the average rate on new mortgage loans at deposit banks stood at 4.88% per annum, up 0.22 percentage point from 4.66% in August and the highest since April 2012, a span of 14 years and five months. In particular, fixed-rate mortgage loans, whose benchmark rates and spreads both rose, climbed for the 12th consecutive month to 5.11%, breaking above the 5% level for the first time since the statistics were first compiled in January 2013. Even unsecured credit loan rates are approaching 7% per annum, pushing the principal and interest burden on borrowers far beyond what they can bear.

Even policy finance that claims to protect ordinary people is seeing its defenses crumble. The Korea Housing Finance Corporation said on Nov. 9 that it will raise the rate on Bogeumjari Loan, its policy mortgage for ordinary borrowers, by 0.10 percentage point to 5.00–5.30% per annum for the Akeum e-Bogeumjari Loan. This is the first time the 10-year rate has entered the 5% range since the product was launched in March 2014. Policy mortgages are supposed to provide a long-term fixed-rate safety net for actual homebuyers seeking to avoid the high rates of commercial banks, but by raising the threshold of the public safety net, citing deterioration in mortgage-backed securities issuance rates and funding conditions, the authorities have left vulnerable borrowers with no alternative.

This reversal in rates has immediately led to a surge in delinquency rates. According to data on won-denominated loan delinquency at domestic banks released by the Financial Supervisory Service on Oct. 23, the proportion of loans with principal or interest overdue by at least one month stood at 0.69% as of the end of August, the highest since October 2016, a span of nine years and 10 months. The delinquency rate on loans to small and medium-sized enterprises facing weak domestic demand and rising costs jumped 0.09 percentage point from the previous month to 1.00%, with small and medium-sized corporations at 1.10% and individual business owners at 0.86%. Among household loans, the delinquency rate on other household loans, including unsecured credit loans that are directly exposed to rate shocks because they lack collateral, rose to 0.91%, reaching a dangerous level.

This spread of non-performing loans stems not just from individual borrowers' funding difficulties but from structural flaws in the financial system. Variable-rate loans, which account for more than half of new mortgage loan balances in Korea, pass the entire cost of rate increases on to households. Households that have to pay hundreds of thousands of won more in interest each month reduce consumption, which in turn leads to a sharp drop in revenue for self-employed business owners and SMEs and further loan defaults—a typical vicious cycle.

Financial authorities say the August delinquency rate is below the pre-COVID 10-year long-term average of 0.78% and therefore manageable, but this may be an illusion created by the indicator. In fact, new delinquencies in August alone reached 3 trillion won (about $2.2 billion), while banks disposed of only 1.5 trillion won (about $1.1 billion) in non-performing loans through write-offs and sales, meaning delinquencies are accumulating twice as fast as they are being cleaned up. The risk is that the essence of the problem has not been resolved but is merely hidden behind the statistics.

Banks are criticized for easily raising spreads under the pretext of the authorities' curbs on household lending and enjoying record interest income while ignoring the increased repayment burden on borrowers. The so-called 'passing the bomb' type of liquidity support, which simply extends the maturity of debts of borrowers who have lost their ability to repay, could come back as a burden of loan-loss provisions for the entire financial sector in the future.

To defend against non-performing loans across the financial sector, fundamental credit soundness management is urgently needed beyond simple maturity extensions. The appropriateness of the spread calculation system should be reviewed, and sophisticated debt restructuring that reflects repayment capacity as well as mandatory preemptive loan-loss provisioning should be introduced. If the market structure in which only lending rates rise while the base rate is frozen is left unattended, the domino effect of delinquencies starting from vulnerable groups will inevitably spread into a full-blown credit crisis.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 9, 2026.)

Commercial banks are sharply increasing issuance of certificates of deposit (CDs) to prepare for year-end liquidity ratio compliance and large deposit outflows, driving short-term funding rates higher. As long-term market rates fall while short-term rates alone surge, concerns are rising that the interest burden is being passed on to vulnerable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with loans tied to CD rates.

According to financial industry sources on Nov. 9, the yield on three-year Korea Treasury Bonds fell from 4.011% per annum at the end of September to 3.613% on Nov. 6, but the three-month CD rate, a key benchmark for corporate loans, rose from 3.22% to 3.34% over the same period. While long-term government bond yields dropped about 0.4 percentage point, CD rates rebounded, showing an anomaly for the first time since the Legoland crisis in October 2022.

The main cause of the short-term rate rise is funding pressure at major commercial banks. Banks are preparing for deposit outflows from large dividend payments by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix at the end of this month, while also needing to meet year-end regulatory indicators such as the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). In addition, with a record 26.7 trillion won (about $20 billion) in bank bond maturities coming due in November, banks have concentrated on the CD market as an alternative to avoid pressure from bank bond issuance.

As a result, financial sector CD issuance in October surged 47% month-on-month to 7.775 trillion won (about $5.7 billion), the highest this year. Since October, Hana Bank issued 2.34 trillion won (about $1.7 billion), followed by Kyongnam Bank (1.47 trillion won (about $1.1 billion)), iM Bank (1.36 trillion won (about $1 billion)), and KB Kookmin Bank (1.32 trillion won (about $974 million)). Accordingly, one-year CD issuance rates at the five major commercial banks jumped from the late 2% range early this year to 4.02–4.05% after October.

The problem is that the rise in funding costs, which banks raised to meet regulatory indicators, is being fully passed on to marginal SMEs through the corporate loan structure. At Woori Bank, CD-linked corporate loan balances stood at 108.1864 trillion won (about $80 billion) as of end-September, accounting for 69.1% of total corporate won loans. That is a sharp 18.2 percentage point increase from 50.9% a year earlier. Over the past year, CD-linked floating-rate loans to SMEs at Woori Bank surged by 22.5 trillion won (about $17 billion), while fixed-rate loans that can hedge interest rate risk fell by 21 trillion won (about $15 billion), increasing borrowers' rate sensitivity.

Other commercial banks are in a similar situation. Hana Bank also has 60% of its total corporate loans tied to CD rates, while KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank each exceed 20%. As banks restructure their loan portfolios toward floating rates, which make it easier to shift funding risk to borrowers, relatively weak small and medium-sized companies are left exposed to short-term rate fluctuations.

This distorted loan structure is directly hitting the soundness of SMEs already at their limits. The share of marginal firms with an interest coverage ratio below 1, meaning they cannot even cover financial costs with operating income, jumped from 34.2% at end-December last year to 46.3% at end-March this year, a 12.1 percentage point rise in just three months. The delinquency rate for real estate and rental businesses at major banks including Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) also rose to 1.99%, up 0.83 percentage point from a year earlier, bringing potential bad loans to the surface.

The short-term funding squeeze is spreading beyond CDs to the commercial paper (CP) market. The 91-day CP rate rose from 3.29% on Sept. 18 to 3.87% on Nov. 6, and its spread over the base rate (3.00%) widened sharply from 0.29 percentage point to 0.87 percentage point.

With year-end book closing by financial institutions and the Bank of Korea's monetary policy meeting this month approaching, short-term liquidity is likely to tighten further. A key question is whether banks can manage the boomerang risk that their one-sided funding measures may accelerate defaults among marginal borrowers and ultimately return as higher loan-loss provisions.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 9, 2026.)

Maynilad, the Philippines' largest private water utility, is pushing to expand cooperation with Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water) for water infrastructure development across the Philippines. With the 15 billion peso (about 318 billion won) New Clark City water project likely to be secured, the two companies plan to broaden their partnership nationwide to improve poor infrastructure.

According to Maynilad on Nov. 9, the company is seeking additional cooperation opportunities with K-water in various water infrastructure projects in the Philippines beyond the New Clark City project. Ricardo de los Reyes, Maynilad's chief financial officer, said, "We hope to partner with K-water on various projects," adding that there are many opportunities across the Philippines.

Currently, the Philippines' water infrastructure is severely lacking outside the capital region of Metro Manila. According to Maynilad, the water supply service coverage rate in areas outside Metro Manila remains at about 50%.

The company explained that most residents rely on deep wells, which is highly unsustainable from the perspective of weather variability and the environment. CFO de los Reyes added, "There are so many opportunities that we need to decide which ones to prioritize."

The expansion of the partnership is based on the New Clark City water and sewerage project, for which a final contract is likely to be signed within this year. The project, promoted by the Philippines' Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), is a large-scale project to build and operate water and sewerage facilities in New Clark City for 25 years.

Through this project, New Clark City's water supply capacity, currently about 20 million liters per day, will increase to 150 million to 200 million liters. K-water will secure a 40% stake in the joint venture, while Maynilad and BCDA will each hold 30% and lead the business.

A stable water supply chain is directly linked to expanding New Clark City's industrial base. BCDA is developing New Clark City as a hub for high-value-added industries that require large-scale water resources, such as advanced manufacturing and data centers.

In August 2026, the K-water and Maynilad consortium obtained the status of "original proponent" for the project. BCDA then conducted a Swiss challenge competitive bidding until Oct. 20, 2026, allowing other companies to submit better offers, but no additional competitors participated.

Recently, Maynilad has continued to grow its earnings by expanding water and sewerage operations. In the first half of 2026, Maynilad's net profit rose 14% year-on-year to 8.51 billion pesos (about 180 billion won), driven by expanded service areas and continued infrastructure investment.

With the New Clark City project also concluded as a sole bid, only the signing of the main contract between the two companies remains. CFO de los Reyes said, "As there are no other bidders, we expect a decision to be made soon."

Doosan Bobcat has won a bid to supply generators for the German government's emergency humanitarian aid. The portable power business, which has grown mainly in the North American market, is expanding its business scope by proving product competitiveness in the European public procurement market.

According to the European Union's Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) on Nov. 8, Doosan Bobcat's German subsidiary was awarded the final contract to supply generators and power equipment ordered by the procurement office of Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior.

The supply items include 8-10kVA generators, power stations, cable sets, construction power distributors, and lighting towers. According to the original notice, the equipment will be used solely for emergency humanitarian aid, and the German government will organize transport to destination countries after taking delivery.

The procurement office of Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior has been procuring large-scale generators since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022 to help civilian and relief facilities in areas where power grids have been destroyed. This procurement volume will also be used to restore essential infrastructure at relief sites suffering from power shortages.

This order is a meaningful public procurement achievement for Doosan Bobcat's portable power business in the European market. Portable power equipment supplies electricity and compressed air to construction sites and disaster zones. Since 2023, Doosan Bobcat has unified the brand of this product line from Doosan to Bobcat, streamlining global marketing.

In 2024, the company launched a new lineup of portable generators tailored to European market specifications and emission standards, steadily expanding its locally customized product range. Having met the stringent requirements of German government agencies in this tender, the company is expected to secure additional business-to-government (B2G) volume going forward.

Doosan Bobcat's portable power business has been posting steady results, driven by the North American construction boom and product diversification. In the third quarter, the portable power segment's revenue was $99 million (about 138 billion won), up 5% from a year earlier.

During the same period, overall revenue in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) also rose 3% despite external factors such as foreign exchange losses, thanks to sustained demand for compact equipment and recovering sales of industrial vehicles such as forklifts. The company plans to continue strengthening its sales network in the European market based on this generator procurement success.

A delegation from Indonesia's National Energy Council (DEN), which oversees the country's energy policy, visited Doosan Enerbility's Changwon plant to inspect its nuclear power manufacturing capabilities. As Indonesia pushes to introduce 10 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power by 2040 and begins searching for partners in earnest, expectations are also growing for Korean nuclear companies to enter the Southeast Asian market.

According to Listrik Indonesia, an Indonesian energy media outlet, on Nov. 8, a delegation led by Satya Widya Yudha, DEN commissioner for industry, visited Doosan Enerbility's Changwon integrated production base on Nov. 5 to discuss nuclear technology cooperation. The delegation included Unggul Priyanto, commissioner for technology, Nanang Kristanto, secretariat coordinator, and an economic official from the Indonesian Embassy in Korea.

The delegation toured the entire process of manufacturing nuclear power main equipment at the Changwon plant, which sits on a site of about 4.429 million square meters. They directly inspected the manufacturing process of major components for the APR1400, Korea's next-generation nuclear reactor, including the reactor vessel, steam generator, and reactor coolant pump (RCP). Doosan Enerbility also introduced its technology across the entire nuclear power life cycle, including pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) technology, spent nuclear fuel storage cask manufacturing, and nuclear decommissioning and maintenance services.

Commissioner Satya Widya Yudha said, "Nuclear power is the most realistic and only solution to global warming and fine dust problems," adding, "Doosan has excellent preparation and capability to supply the world's safest and most reliable nuclear power plants."

The visit carries added significance as it comes at a time when Indonesia is concretizing its national nuclear power adoption plan. The Indonesian government has set a plan to use nuclear power as a major energy source to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and secure 10GW of nuclear power capacity by 2040.

To this end, it is going through related procedures with the goal of operating its first commercial nuclear power plant of 500 megawatts (MW) between 2032 and 2034. In particular, given the geographical characteristics of the country consisting of numerous islands, it is also actively considering the introduction of small modular reactors (SMRs).

As the project is large in scale, competition among global nuclear power companies is intensifying. Russia's state-owned Rosatom has proposed building a floating nuclear power plant, while major companies from the United States, China, and France are reportedly contacting Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund and seeking opportunities to participate. The Indonesian government plans to select partners by comprehensively evaluating technology safety and financial support conditions, in line with its diplomatic stance of not leaning toward any particular country.

Doosan Enerbility has supplied about 680 power generation units totaling 200GW to more than 30 countries worldwide. In Indonesia, it has also built cooperative relations with power authorities by participating in projects such as the eco-friendly conversion of the Jawa 9 and 10 coal-fired power plants.

As Indonesia, the largest power market in Southeast Asia, begins the full-fledged process of introducing nuclear power, opportunities for Korean nuclear companies to enter the market are also becoming more concrete.

Paris Baguette has opened its first drive-thru store in the United States, allowing customers to purchase products without leaving their vehicles for the first time in the brand's history. As demand for fast-casual bakeries grows in North America, the company is accelerating its expansion by introducing a new store format tailored to local consumer trends.

On November 7, Paris Baguette announced that it opened its first drive-thru store in Moore, Oklahoma, on November 3 (local time). The location is the company's second store in Oklahoma and its 62nd North American opening this year, bringing the total to 346 stores across the region.

The new store is co-owned by Mike Issa and Moe Touffaha, who have extensive franchise operating experience. The two are veterans who have run major local restaurant brands such as IHOP, and have steadily expanded their Paris Baguette presence in the south-central region, including New Mexico, since opening their first store in Kansas in 2022.

The store combines the comfortable in-store dining experience typical of bakery cafes with a drive-thru lane for busy customers. It is designed with efficient service flow and customized windows so customers can purchase freshly baked pastries and signature coffee without getting out of their cars.

Paris Baguette is showing notable growth in the North American franchise market. In the third quarter of this year alone, it signed 32 franchise agreements and opened 15 new stores, and cumulative systemwide revenue is approaching $1 billion (about 1.36 trillion won). The brand ranked 29th overall and first in the bakery cafe category in Entrepreneur magazine's 2026 Franchise 500.

The company is also investing in infrastructure alongside store expansion. Paris Baguette is building its first North American bakery production plant in Burleson, Texas, with an investment of $200 million (about 272 billion won) and a size of about 24,800 square meters. Scheduled for completion in 2029, the facility will play a central role in stably supplying products to franchisees across North America and reducing logistics costs.

Darren Tipton, CEO of Paris Baguette North America, said, "This opening is an exciting next step in the brand's evolution to bring the bakery cafe experience directly to where customers are." He added, "We expect the new store format to contribute to growing the brand in North American communities." The company plans to continue strengthening its localized model with the goal of reaching 1,000 North American stores by 2030.

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has signed a final contract with Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco for the construction and operation of the Jafurah Phase 2 cogeneration plant and the supply of power and steam. The deal gives KEPCO responsibility for key infrastructure at the Jafurah gas field, the largest shale gas field in the Middle East, further strengthening its position in the region's energy market.

KEPCO said on Nov. 8 that it signed the final contract with Aramco to sell electricity and steam produced at the Jafurah Phase 2 cogeneration plant. The project is a large-scale infrastructure development to build a 331-megawatt power plant near the Jafurah gas field, about 400 kilometers east of Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

The plant will also include facilities capable of producing about 465 tons of steam per hour. A special purpose company jointly established by KEPCO and Aramco will be responsible for operations. Once the plant is completed in June 2029, it will supply power and steam exclusively to Aramco for 17 years.

KEPCO expects to generate stable revenue of $1.4 billion, or about 2.1 trillion won (about $1.5 billion), over the period. Steam produced at the plant is essential for energy-intensive industrial processes such as gas extraction and processing. The approach produces power and steam at a single site to improve fuel efficiency and reduce operating costs.

The project also marks a concrete achievement in joint entry with Korean companies. Doosan Enerbility will handle plant construction, and the Export-Import Bank of Korea will provide financial support for the project.

In particular, Doosan Škoda Power, a subsidiary of Doosan Enerbility, will directly manufacture and supply steam turbines, a core component of the plant. KEPCO expects the project to generate about 1.2 trillion won (about $886 million) in overseas export effects for Korean companies.

The award is a follow-up expansion of the Jafurah Phase 1 cogeneration project (317MW), which KEPCO won through an international competitive bid in 2022. The successful execution of the first phase built strong trust with the client, leading to the sole award of the second phase.

The Jafurah gas field is the largest shale gas field in the Middle East, located in eastern Saudi Arabia. Since the 1,200MW Rabigh heavy oil power project in 2009, KEPCO has steadily expanded its presence in the Saudi power market with projects including the 2,000MW Sadawi solar plant and the 3,780MW Rumah 1 and Nairyah 1 gas combined cycle plants.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 9, 2026.)

Kia has achieved its highest-ever monthly sales in Mexico since entering the market. The Korean automaker is cementing its position in the key Latin American market with a locally produced sedan tailored to local demand and a new hybrid lineup.

According to Kia's Mexican unit on Nov. 8, the company sold a total of 10,401 vehicles in Mexico in October 2026. That was up 10.3% from a year earlier and marked the highest monthly sales since Kia entered the Mexican market.

Kia's cumulative sales from January through October this year reached 92,447 units. Its market share stood at 7.5% in October and 7.2% on a cumulative basis, keeping it in fifth place after Nissan, Chevrolet, Volkswagen and Toyota. In October, Kia narrowed its sales gap with fourth-ranked Toyota, which sold 10,492 units, to just 91 vehicles, intensifying the competition for market share.

The main model driving the performance was the K3 compact sedan produced at Kia's plant in Pesqueria, Nuevo Leon. K3 sales rose 5.8% on year to about 49,000 units in the first 10 months of this year, accounting for more than half of Kia's total sales in Mexico.

The SUV lineup and hybrid models also contributed. The Seltos compact SUV sold 1,520 units in October alone, helped by the launch of its second-generation model and the first deliveries of its hybrid version. The Sportage hybrid also saw cumulative sales triple from a year earlier, as Kia actively responds to local demand for electrified vehicles.

Kim Ki-soo, chief sales officer at Kia Mexico, said the record October sales demonstrate the brand's achievements amid fierce competition in the local market, and that the company will pursue even higher growth for the rest of this year.

Graphy, a Korean photopolymer 3D printing materials specialist, has signed a strategic partnership with Biotech Dental, a French dental company. The two companies plan to combine Graphy's direct 3D printing technology with Biotech Dental's distribution network to create commercialization synergies in the global clear aligner market.

According to Graphy's official social media account on Nov. 8, the two companies held a partnership signing ceremony at the French Orthodontic Society's annual congress (FFO) in Paris. FFO (Journées de l'Orthodontie) is a large annual academic event organized by the French Orthodontic Society, and this year it was held from Nov. 6 to 8.

Biotech Dental is a French dental medical device company founded in 1987. Through its own clear aligner brand Smilers, it operates the largest aligner manufacturing facility in Europe. As of 2022, it recorded revenue of about $100 million (about 133 billion won), and in 2023 global dental distributor Henry Schein invested $420 million (about 560 billion won) to acquire a 57% stake, drawing attention.

The core of this collaboration is Graphy's commercialized Shape Memory Aligner technology. Conventional clear aligners are mostly made by first 3D printing a patient's dental model and then vacuum-forming a thermoplastic sheet over it. In contrast, Graphy uses a special resin that responds to body temperature and returns to its original shape, adopting a direct printing method that prints the aligner directly with a 3D printer.

Graphy plans to accelerate commercialization of its technology by leveraging Biotech Dental's extensive market experience and distribution network. Graphy said, "Based on innovative dental technology and Biotech Dental's global business capabilities, we will materialize product verification and commercialization cooperation," and added, "We will continue to expand practical business cooperation possibilities in the global dental market based on each company's technological strength and market competitiveness."

Hyundai Steel and POSCO have completed major permits and begun full-scale foundation work on their joint steel mill in Louisiana, the United States. The project marks a key step in Hyundai Motor Group's US investment strategy to build a supply chain from molten iron to finished vehicles.

Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel (HPLS) said on Nov. 8 via LinkedIn that it recently started the first pile driving for the plant's construction. Pile driving is foundation work that drives columns deep into the ground to bear loads. HPLS has secured all necessary permits for this phase and has begun construction in earnest.

HPLS held a groundbreaking ceremony in early September and obtained an air emissions permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) in late October, meeting regulatory requirements for construction. The plant, with a total investment of $5.8 billion (about 8.12 trillion won), will be built on a 7.37 million square meter site within the Riverplex Mega Park near Donaldsonville. Commercial production is targeted for the first quarter of 2029.

The new mill will have an annual steel production capacity of 2.7 million tons, of which 1.8 million tons will be automotive steel sheet and 900,000 tons general steel products. It will be the first in the US to produce automotive steel sheet from iron ore in a single electric arc furnace process. By combining direct reduced iron (DRI) technology using natural gas instead of coal with an electric arc furnace, carbon emissions can be reduced by about 70% compared to conventional blast furnace processes.

The US currently imposes high tariffs on imported steel and offers duty-free benefits only for steel that uses a certain proportion of North American molten iron. HPLS, launched in this market environment, is owned 50% by Hyundai Steel, 20% by POSCO, and 15% each by Hyundai Motor and Kia.

Once the mill is completed, Hyundai Motor Group will have a supply chain in the US spanning steel production to finished vehicle assembly. Automotive steel sheet produced there will be supplied first to North American production bases such as Hyundai Motor's Alabama plant and Kia's Georgia plant.

HPLS expects the mill to create about 5,400 jobs, including 1,300 direct hires, when operational. Based on cooperation with the local community, it plans to accelerate the process to establish mass production by 2029.

A court has ruled that even if a financial company distorts sales materials at the headquarters level to sell risky products, legal sanctions against responsible executives can be neutralized simply by reaching a post-hoc settlement and paying monetary compensation. On Oct. 22, the Seoul Administrative Court's 12th Administrative Division ruled in favor of A, a former head of CPC strategy at Samsung Securities, in a lawsuit seeking cancellation of the Financial Supervisory Service's notification of measures against a retired employee of a financial investment company. The ruling accepts the logic that if a financial company's inadequate supervision of product design and sales practices is remedied with money after the fact, the level of discipline should be lowered, raising concerns that a significant loophole has emerged in the regulatory framework designed to strengthen internal controls and responsible management.

The case stems from Samsung Securities' misselling of funds between June and August 2019. At the time, Samsung Securities recommended investments in three 'Samsung Trust TA Asia Trade Finance Funds' with uncertain principal recovery prospects using materials that could be misconstrued as guaranteeing principal recovery, selling a total of 11 transactions worth 23.2 billion won (about $17 million) to 10 professional investors. Large losses occurred after fund redemptions were suspended in 2020. The FSS identified this as a violation of the prohibition on misselling under the Capital Markets Act through a regular inspection in 2022, and on May 15, 2025, notified A, the former head of CPC strategy who was responsible for supervision at the time, of a measure equivalent to a three-month pay cut. If the pay cut is finalized, A would be barred from serving as an executive for three years under the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies.

The court ruled that the FSS's disposition was illegal as it deviated from and abused discretionary authority. The key basis was that the FSS failed to reflect in the level of discipline the fact that in March 2025, before the prior notice of sanctions, Samsung Securities reached settlements with 9 of the 10 victims and paid $12.13 million (80% of the dollar-denominated investment amount). The court also pointed to violations of disciplinary equity, comparing the case with private equity fund misselling incidents at other large brokerages such as Shinhan Securities (47.3 billion won (about $35 million)), KB Securities (16.7 billion won (about $12 million)), and NH Investment & Securities (697.4 billion won (about $515 million)), noting that the damage was relatively small, all victims were professional investors, and the institutional sanction imposed on Samsung Securities was only an institutional warning.

However, from the perspective of financial companies' internal controls, this ruling has clear limitations in that it could invite moral hazard. This case was not a simple deviation by frontline sales staff but a structural problem caused by the headquarters itself distorting product sales materials to be inconsistent with the facts. Packaging and distributing products as if they were safe without transparently disclosing the credit risk of the products sold is an act that betrays basic market trust. Nevertheless, granting immunity by ruling that even identity-related sanctions on the executive in charge are excessive simply because the company's massive financial resources enabled a post-hoc settlement could set a dangerous precedent.

Criticism is also raised over the comparison method that uses only post-hoc settlements and damage size as yardsticks. Under the court's logic, if the damage is in the hundreds of billions of won and post-hoc compensation is smoothly carried out, effective discipline against executive-level personnel becomes virtually impossible. There is a high risk that a vicious cycle will become entrenched in which large financial companies recklessly distribute risky products and then, when problems erupt, easily erase management's responsibility through post-hoc settlements. Moreover, the financial authorities lost timeliness by imposing discipline only in 2025, about 5 years and 9 months after the violation, and in the process gave financial companies an excuse to buy time and dilute legal risks, which is also a painful point.

The discipline of the capital market damaged by fund insolvency cannot be fully restored simply by paying money after the fact. It is urgent to correct the structure in which internal credit risk control systems are shaken by the size of settlement amounts and used as a tool for executive immunity. How the FSS establishes the legal principles of supervisory responsibility for misselling through the appellate trial, and how it reduces the time lag in sanctions and overhauls discipline standards for internal control failures will be key indicators for restoring market trust.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

With a massive 72.3 trillion won (about $53 billion) in corporate bond maturities due next year, market rates are also expected to hit their annual peak, putting companies on alert over refinancing. In particular, as maturities are concentrated in the first half, concerns are growing that low-rated companies lacking their own repayment capacity could be pushed into a liquidity crisis.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association and the bond market, corporate bond maturities in 2027 total 72.3 trillion won (about $53 billion), with 66.8%—or 48.3 trillion won (about $36 billion)—concentrated in the first half. January's 11.7 trillion won (about $8.6 billion) and February's 12.6 trillion won (about $9.3 billion) alone amount to 24.4 trillion won (about $18 billion) in the first two months, the largest ever. This is because three-year corporate bonds issued in large volumes in January 2024, when monthly issuance hit a record 13.1 trillion won (about $9.7 billion), are all coming due at once. Of next year's total maturities, 29 trillion won (about $21 billion)—57%—are three-year bonds issued in 2024, and 72% of January maturities are concentrated in this period.

The biggest problem is that funding costs have jumped sharply compared with three years ago. In January 2024, the average monthly yield on unsecured AA- rated three-year corporate bonds was 4.01% per annum, while three-year Korea Treasury Bonds yielded 3.27%. By contrast, as of Nov. 4, three-year KTB yields had surged to 3.703% and corporate bond yields to 4.388%. With three-year KTB yields expected to peak at an average of 4.00% in the first quarter of next year and credit spreads—the gap between KTB and corporate bond yields—seen widening to 71 bp (basis points), the funding environment is set to become even harsher.

As a result, even blue-chip companies will have to pay around 4.7% per annum when refinancing in the first quarter of next year, about 0.7 percentage point higher than their existing coupon rates. With interest costs snowballing even for top-tier firms, the refinancing burden for low-rated companies (A+ and below) has reached its limit. Yields on BBB- rated three-year corporate bonds, close to speculative grade, already stood at 10.216% per annum as of Nov. 4—a double-digit rate. Low-rated corporate bonds have already posted net redemptions of 5.2 trillion won (about $3.8 billion) this year, the most severe funding squeeze since 2017 (5.5 trillion won (about $4.1 billion)).

The funding difficulties of low-rated companies are already visible in the market. E-Land World, rated BBB, saw its book-building for a 20 billion won (about $15 million) one-year bond in August end undersubscribed, and it barely filled the order through additional subscriptions. On the same day, it had to repay two-thirds of a maturing 60 billion won (about $44 million) bond using its own reserves. While major conglomerates increased borrowing from the five largest commercial banks by about 20 trillion won (about $15 billion) in the first half of this year as the corporate bond market became harder to access, companies with low credit ratings and weak business conditions are finding it difficult even to pass banks' tightened credit screening.

Typically, the start of the year brings a so-called year-opening effect, with institutional investors beginning to deploy funds and demand for corporate bonds surging. But next year, that tailwind is likely to be strictly limited to top-rated issuers. The first quarter of 2027 is expected to be a critical watershed, as concentrated maturities and peak issuance yields combine to make corporate credit risk a reality. If the seasonal liquidity of the year-opening effect fails to fill the steep credit spreads on low-rated bonds, the early-year maturity cliff is highly likely to act as a direct trigger for a chain of liquidity crises among low-rated companies.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

Sole proprietor loans that internet-only banks aggressively expanded to circumvent household loan regulations are coming back as massive credit costs. KakaoBank and K bank set aside a large portion of their increased third-quarter operating profit as loan-loss provisions, exposing structurally weaker profitability compared with traditional commercial banks.

According to third-quarter earnings data from the financial sector on Nov. 8, KakaoBank and K bank's credit loss provisions for financial assets amounted to 27.5% and 57.7% of their pre-provision operating profit, respectively. That is significantly higher than the 12.2% average of the four largest commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana. KakaoBank is setting aside more than a quarter of its operating profit and K bank well over half to brace for potential bad debt.

KakaoBank's pre-provision operating profit rose about 28% on-year to 264.7 billion won (about $195 million) in the third quarter, but its credit loss provisions jumped 30.9% to 72.9 billion won (about $54 million), outpacing profit growth. Compared with the previous quarter's 56.8 billion won (about $42 million), provisions surged about 28% in just three months. The ratio of provisions to pre-provision profit soared to 27.5% from 22.7% over the same period.

K bank's fundamentals are even more precarious. Its third-quarter provisions rose 15.2% on-year to 60.1 billion won (about $44 million) from 52.1 billion won (about $38 million) and 16.9% from the previous quarter's 51.4 billion won (about $38 million). Its cumulative credit cost ratio was 1.12%, down 3bp from a year earlier but still more than double KakaoBank's 0.54%. The bank is struggling to control borrowers' potential credit risk, with 57.7% of its earnings being eaten up by credit costs.

The fundamental reason credit cost burdens have surged to two to five times the level of traditional commercial banks lies in a structural shift in loan portfolios. As financial authorities intensified pressure to curb household loans and mortgage lending in the Seoul metropolitan area, internet-only banks rushed to shift toward sole proprietor unsecured credit loans and guarantee-backed loans. KakaoBank's sole proprietor loan balance surged more than 40% in a year, exceeding 4 trillion won (about $3 billion) in the third quarter from about 2.8 trillion won (about $2.1 billion) a year earlier.

The problem is that under current International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS 9), banks must calculate expected future credit losses and set aside provisions as soon as a loan is extended, even before any delinquency occurs. Sole proprietor loans are concentrated with vulnerable borrowers who absorb the shock of an economic slowdown and prolonged high interest rates first, so the assigned default rates and loss rates are far higher than for household mortgage loans. Even if loan books grow by the same amount, the unit of upfront loss costs that must be booked is completely different from the high-quality mortgage loans of commercial banks.

This peculiarity is clearly visible in the gap between KakaoBank's asset quality indicators and its provision charges. KakaoBank's overall delinquency rate fell 0.04 percentage point to 0.49% in the third quarter from 0.53% a year earlier, and its substandard-or-below loans ratio — nonperforming loans overdue by more than three months — also improved to 0.53% from 0.55%. The fact that provisions surged more than 30% even as asset quality indicators improved shows that the credit risk premium embedded in newly added sole proprietor loan assets themselves is enormous, rather than deterioration in existing loans.

K bank, on the other hand, is suffering a double whammy of provision burdens from newly added assets and deterioration of its existing portfolio. K bank's delinquency rate rose to 0.62% in the third quarter from 0.56% a year earlier, and its substandard-or-below loans ratio climbed to 0.60% from 0.54%. The bank's distorted profit structure is hardening as proactive provisions that inevitably accompany asset growth are compounded by weakening repayment capacity among existing borrowers.

The provision-absorbing structure of internet-only banks is likely to become a long-term time bomb when combined with the regulatory mandate on mid- to low-credit borrower lending. To achieve inclusive finance, internet-only banks must maintain about 30% of their average loan balance in mid- to low-credit borrower loans at all times. If the self-employed business slump is prolonged and a large number of sole proprietor loan borrowers fall into marginal self-employment, the pre-accumulated expected loss provisions will inevitably turn into confirmed losses in an instant.

Ultimately, the high-growth equation of internet-only banks, where asset growth directly translated into shareholder value and net profit increases, has come to a halt. The more aggressively they expand loan assets, the more exponentially provisions grow, swallowing up the effect of rising net interest margins (NIM). As they have entered a phase where the pace of credit cost increases outpaces profit generation through asset expansion, the speed of nonperforming loan (NPL) write-offs and sales and the precision of sole proprietor credit evaluation models are expected to become decisive indicators of internet-only banks' fundamental strength.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

Samsung Electronics has ended its global patent dispute with Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE by mutually withdrawing lawsuits over 4G and 5G standard essential patents (SEPs). The large-scale royalty battle fought in courts across Europe, the United Kingdom, China and other countries over the past two years has been resolved through an out-of-court settlement.

According to JUVE Patent, a European intellectual property publication, on Nov. 8, Samsung Electronics and ZTE recently withdrew their patent infringement lawsuits filed with the Mannheim local division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). The withdrawal of the large-scale litigation without any claim for costs indicates that the two companies resolved the dispute outside of court. Related lawsuits pending at the Munich Regional Court were also withdrawn.

The patent dispute began in late 2024 after the existing license agreement expired and renewal negotiations broke down. In December 2024, Samsung Electronics filed a lawsuit with the UK High Court requesting a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) royalty determination for ZTE's global telecommunications patent portfolio. ZTE responded by filing patent infringement lawsuits in China, Germany and the UPC, and the two companies continued to fight by suing each other in courts in Brazil and the United States.

On the key issue of royalty amount, the UK High Court ruled in May this year that Samsung Electronics must pay ZTE $392 million (about 548 billion won) in a lump sum for five years of patent use. This amount falls between the less than $200 million (about 280 billion won) demanded by Samsung Electronics and the $731 million (about 1.023 trillion won) claimed by ZTE. On the same day, however, the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court in China ruled in favor of ZTE, ordering Samsung Electronics to pay $731 million.

The two sides also fought in German courts. In April, the Munich Regional Court granted a sales ban injunction against Samsung Electronics in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by ZTE. Meanwhile, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the UPC Mannheim court invalidated some patents of both companies and stayed the proceedings.

In his earlier ruling, Judge Richard Meade of the UK High Court criticized the lack of a dispute resolution mechanism within the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) framework, calling it a "broken system." Amid ongoing criticism of excessive multinational litigation, the two sides reached a compromise, and all court proceedings pending in various countries have been concluded.

Hyundai Motor's vehicle assembly plant under construction in Relizane, Algeria, is gearing up for full-scale production. With the establishment of a key production base for the North African and Middle East (MENA) market entering its final stages, Hyundai Motor's global production expansion strategy is gaining momentum.

According to Algeria's Ministry of Industry on Nov. 8, Industry Minister Farid Kourtel met with a delegation from Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Algeria and Korean parts suppliers at the ministry headquarters in Algiers the previous day to discuss preparations for the start of production at the Relizane plant. Senior officials from the Algerian industry ministry also attended the meeting to review technical and logistical readiness for plant operations.

Hyundai Motor announced in August 2026 that it would invest $400 million (approximately 560 billion won) with its Omani partner Saud Bahwan Group to build a vehicle assembly plant in Algeria. The plant, located in the Sidi Khettab industrial zone in Relizane Province, is scheduled to begin operations at the end of this year or early next year, with an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles.

Initial production will focus on price-competitive sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and small commercial vehicles. Hyundai Motor plans to expand its production lines to assemble urban compact cars and electric vehicles (EVs) locally. Through this, the company aims to meet domestic demand in Algeria while expanding exports to nearby African countries.

At the meeting, the Algerian government pledged active support for the successful operation of the Hyundai Motor plant. Both sides also discussed in depth ways to build partnerships between Korean parts suppliers and local Algerian companies. The goal is to increase the local production ratio of auto parts, foster an industrial ecosystem, and enhance the competitiveness of Algeria's manufacturing sector through technology transfer.

Minister Kourtel, who took office in September 2026, has been focusing on fostering the automotive industry with the goal of raising the industrial sector's contribution to Algeria's gross domestic product (GDP) to 15% by 2027. In October 2026, he attended the Africa Automotive Investment Forum in Egypt and met with Tarek Ismail Mosaad, head of Hyundai Motor's Middle East and North Africa regional headquarters, to coordinate investment progress.

Hyundai Motor has set a goal of increasing global production by 1.27 million units by 2030, positioning Algeria as a key growth driver alongside North America and India. Algeria's Ministry of Industry said it will strengthen coordination among relevant government agencies to ensure the Hyundai Motor plant begins actual production as soon as possible through parts localization and higher local integration rates.

Korea's K239 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system has emerged as a strong alternative for the Philippine military's long-range strike capability. As global weapons demand surges and delays in US weapons supply worsen, Korea's stable defense production capacity and flexible follow-on support are proving competitive in the Southeast Asian market.

According to the Manila Bulletin, a major Philippine daily, on Nov. 7, Philippine military authorities are reportedly considering the introduction of the Korean-made Chunmoo as a way to quickly acquire long-range strike capability while ensuring stable ammunition supply and follow-on support for decades to come.

The Philippine military is currently pursuing a three-phase modernization program called Re-Horizon 3, with long-range precision strike capability as a key requirement. In this process, Philippine military authorities have been weighing the US High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), widely used around the world, against Korea's Chunmoo.

Fast delivery and a stable ammunition supply chain are behind Chunmoo's rise as a leading candidate. HIMARS has a global order backlog due to support for the Ukraine war and other factors, meaning actual delivery can take years after contract signing, whereas Chunmoo can be fielded relatively quickly.

Hanwha Aerospace, which developed Chunmoo, has even proposed building local maintenance facilities in the Philippines and transferring technology to help maintain long-term operational readiness. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro recently cited Korea's sustained defense investment and production capacity, built on its solid steel and electronics industries, as a model, stressing that the Philippines must also secure its own defense industrial base and stable ammunition stockpiles.

The operational flexibility of the weapon system itself is also considered a strength. A Hanwha Aerospace media team official told the Manila Bulletin, "Chunmoo uses twin-pods to simultaneously carry different types of precision-guided munitions," adding, "It can operate various missiles depending on operational requirements."

Chunmoo has already been exported to multiple countries, proving its performance and mass production capability. Following the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, Norway announced its introduction in January this year, and in Poland, guided rockets will be produced locally from 2030 through a joint venture between Hanwha Aerospace and a local company.

Korea and the Philippines already have close defense cooperation, having traded major weapons systems including 12 FA-50 light attack aircraft for the air force and frigates for the navy. If the Philippine military ultimately selects Chunmoo as its long-range precision strike weapon, the two countries' solid defense cooperation will extend to ground weapons systems.

The credit spread tightening seen in the corporate and bank bond markets earlier this month is nothing more than a temporary technical illusion, analysts said. It is not a real improvement in funding conditions but a belated reaction to the fall in Korea Treasury Bond (KTB) yields, and the rally is expected to fizzle out soon as short-term money market rates climb steeply and institutional investors close their books for the year.

Kim Eun-gi, an analyst at Samsung Securities, strongly questioned the sustainability of the ongoing credit spread narrowing in a market report released on Nov. 7. The fourth quarter is typically a weak season for credit, when institutional investors begin book closing early and fund redemption demand surges, causing credit spreads to widen sharply, especially for lower-rated bonds. But in the first week of this month, contrary to market expectations, the yield gap with KTBs narrowed, led by high-grade bonds.

As of Nov. 5, the credit spread on three-year AAA-rated bank bonds had narrowed by 1.2 bp from its previous peak in October. Over the same period, spreads on AA- and A+ rated capital company bonds narrowed by 1.1 bp, public corporation bonds by 0.9 bp, and AA- rated corporate bonds by 0.7 bp. Bank bonds and credit finance company bonds, which had been hit by oversupply and a sharp rise in yields, showed the steepest narrowing.

Experts say it is hard to interpret the rebound as a normalization of fundamentals. Outstanding issuance of bank bonds and special bonds remained high this month as well as last month, keeping supply pressure intact. The main reason spreads on bank bonds and credit finance company bonds narrowed was short-term price attractiveness. As KTB yields plunged first on safe-haven demand amid the stock market correction and massive net buying of government bond futures by foreigners, credit yields belatedly followed, temporarily narrowing the yield gap on paper.

The illusion was amplified by inflows into bond funds early in the fourth quarter, riding on the KTB rally, which created short-term buying capacity. Short-term money chasing bond valuation gains rushed in, but it is liquidity that can flow out as soon as the rate direction changes.

The real flashpoint for market anxiety is the steep rise in short-term financial market rates. While long-term KTBs rallied, the 91-day certificate of deposit (CD) rate and 91-day commercial paper (CP) rate, which gauge actual funding costs for companies and financial institutions, have been hitting new highs day after day. If short-term refinancing rates keep rising, institutions holding credit bonds will face negative margins as their funding costs exceed returns. This is a structure in which short-term money market tightening inevitably spills over into the long-term credit market with a lag.

Going forward, credit market volatility is expected to hinge largely on the Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board's base rate decision and whether it maintains its tightening stance. If KTB yields rebound while the possibility of a rate hike remains, the credit market, which is propped up by a thin bid base, could quickly turn to heavy selling. In addition, the year-end book closing by institutional investors, which gets into full swing after mid-November, is expected to be a decisive hurdle that forces illiquid corporate bonds and credit finance company bonds to be dumped into the market sequentially.

Samsung Card (CEO Kim Yi-tae) appears to be defending its asset soundness with a falling delinquency rate on the surface, but analysis suggests this is an illusion created by the expansion of total receivables. The company has only lowered the headline delinquency rate by increasing the denominator, while qualitative deterioration such as falling short-term recovery rates and surging cash advances is accelerating sharply.

According to data released by the Credit Finance Association of Korea (CFAK) and the financial industry on November 6, Samsung Card's delinquency rate for loans overdue by one month or more stood at 0.87% as of the end of September, down 0.06 percentage point from 0.93% a year earlier. It was also 0.02 percentage point better than the 0.89% recorded at the end of June. The company said it has defended its soundness indicators through asset growth via quality partners and thorough risk management.

But stripping out the denominator effect reveals the opposite reality. The decline in the delinquency rate is not because bad loans decreased, but because total receivables—the denominator—grew far faster than delinquent receivables—the numerator. Samsung Card's delinquent receivables stood at 290.9 billion won (about $215 million) at the end of September, up 13.5 billion won (about $10 million) (4.9%) from 277.4 billion won (about $205 million) a year earlier. Over the same period, total receivables expanded by a whopping 3.5114 trillion won (about $2.6 billion) (11.7%), from 29.8908 trillion won (about $22 billion) to 33.4022 trillion won (about $25 billion). With total receivables growth outpacing delinquent receivables growth by 6.8 percentage points, the ratio-based delinquency rate alone appears to have fallen—a computational illusion.

The problem is that key soundness indicators reflecting asset quality are flashing warning signs beneath the surface delinquency rate. Most notably, the recovery rate—the front line in defending against early-stage bad loans—has fallen visibly. Samsung Card's recovery rate on receivables overdue 1–30 days in the third quarter was just 57.8%, down 3.2 percentage points from 61.0% a year earlier. As the early-stage bad loan firewall crumbles, the recovery rate for receivables overdue 1–90 days also fell to 34.0%, down 1.3 percentage points from 35.3% in the previous quarter. The more short-term delinquencies that cannot be collected, the longer repayment delays stretch, which leads directly to non-performing loans (NPLs) such as substandard-or-below loans.

On top of this, loan assets with a high probability of turning bad are growing at a pace far exceeding the industry average, amplifying potential risk. Samsung Card's short-term card loans (cash advances) stood at 1.2075 trillion won (about $891 million) at the end of September, up 171.8 billion won (about $127 million) (16.6%) from 1.0358 trillion won (about $764 million) a year earlier. Over the same period, Shinhan Card grew 2.0%, Woori Card 1.5%, and KB Kookmin Card 7.4%, with the average growth rate across nine card companies at just 8.1%. Samsung Card's cash advance expansion is more than double the industry average.

Cash advances have extremely short maturities compared with long-term card loans (card loans), typically requiring one-time repayment of principal and interest on the next month's payment date—an ultra-short-term, high-interest product. Because of the short repayment cycle, multiple-debt borrowers and marginal borrowers use them heavily to roll over immediate cash needs, so even a slight disruption in vulnerable borrowers' cash flow can turn into an immediate delinquency bomb. The fact that Samsung Card kept card loan growth at just 2.8% year-on-year while sharply increasing cash advance handling is a significant burden from an asset soundness management perspective.

In reality, the accumulation of such potential bad debt is materializing as surging credit costs that eat into profitability. Samsung Card's third-quarter credit costs (loan-loss expenses) came to 223 billion won (about $165 million), up 15.4% year-on-year, and cumulative credit costs for the first three quarters rose 8.1% to 596.3 billion won (about $440 million). As vulnerable borrowers continue to apply for debt restructuring and the recovery environment freezes, the burden of setting aside provisions has grown. As a result, Samsung Card's cumulative net profit for the first three quarters fell 9.5% year-on-year to 450.3 billion won (about $332 million).

A more serious time bomb is the explosive growth in potential precautionary loans that carry signs of distress. Precautionary loans—which are not captured in the one-month-plus delinquency rate but have a high probability of turning bad due to weakened borrower repayment capacity—surged 51.7% to 1.3878 trillion won (about $1 billion) at the end of September from 915 billion won (about $675 million) a year earlier. The share of precautionary loans in total receivables also jumped 1.09 percentage points, from 3.06% to 4.15%. For now, the company is defending against a delinquency rate rise by classifying restructured receivables as precautionary, but if the rollover of short-term funds is blocked, these assets will inevitably become delinquent. The scale of reclassification to substandard-or-below loans as repayment delays accumulate, and the resulting loan-loss provision transfers, will be key indicators for gauging Samsung Card's future soundness.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

The US government has officially determined that solar products from India, Indonesia and Laos injured the domestic industry, finalizing tariffs of up to 268%. The trade defense campaign led by Hanwha Solutions' Q Cells division (Hanwha Q Cells) is expected to further strengthen its price competitiveness in the US market.

According to the US Federal Register on Nov. 5, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) made a final determination that the US industry was materially injured by crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules imported from the three countries. The investigation began in July 2025 following a petition by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing and Trade (AASMT), formed by Hanwha Q Cells' US subsidiary and local manufacturers including First Solar. The alliance reportedly argued that foreign companies had shifted production bases to the three countries to evade existing tariffs and were waging a low-price offensive.

Under the final duty rates previously set by the US Commerce Department, large-scale tariffs will be imposed on solar products imported from these countries. Indonesian products face a maximum 268% tariff, combining a 94.36% anti-dumping duty and up to 173.7% countervailing duty. Indian products face a combined rate of about 249%, and Laotian products up to 219%. In particular, the ITC affirmed critical circumstances for Indonesian imports, finding that imports surged during a specific period, opening the way for retroactive tariffs on past imports.

The measures are aimed at blocking the Southeast Asian detour export routes of Chinese solar companies. The US has already imposed tariffs on four Southeast Asian countries — Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam — but volumes seeking to avoid those duties have flooded into Indonesia and elsewhere, continuing market disruption. According to foreign trade statistics, the three countries' solar exports to the US reached $1.54 billion (about 2.14 trillion won) in 2024.

With the ITC's final determination erecting high tariff barriers, local manufacturers that had been suffering from low-priced imports can now recover their sales networks. Hanwha Q Cells, which is building Solar Hub, the largest integrated solar production complex in North America, in Georgia, has secured a foundation to defend its market share and further solidify its local supply chain as Chinese detour volumes are blocked. Following the ITC's injury determination, the Commerce Department will soon issue a final tariff order and begin official cash deposit and collection procedures.

JYP Entertainment has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in a US court against an American music distributor that allegedly distributed songs by its artist Stray Kids without authorization. The company is taking legal action against copyright infringement that exploits loopholes in self-service distribution systems that allow anyone to easily register music on global streaming platforms.

According to a complaint filed on Nov. 4 (local time) in the US District Court for California, JYP Entertainment is seeking damages from OneSync Media, a US distributor, and its founder Miles Gaines. The suit claims they uploaded Stray Kids member Han's solo track 'back to life' without permission and profited unfairly.

The song in question was first released by JYP Entertainment in May 2026 through Stray Kids' official YouTube channel. According to the complaint, a few days after the YouTube release, the track was registered on Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and other platforms under the fictitious artist name 'yungzzz' with the original copyright management data removed.

JYP Entertainment traced the distribution path through YouTube metadata. It found that the track was registered on streaming services through other distributors, and ultimately confirmed that Miles Gaines, founder of OneSync Media, owns the 'yungzzz' account.

JYP Entertainment stated in the complaint that the defendants knowingly reproduced the song illegally and violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Under US law, intentionally removing or altering copyright management information such as watermarks from musical works is illegal.

Miles Gaines, the defendant, denied direct involvement. In an interview with Billboard, he said, "The track was submitted to OneSync through a third party, and I was not aware of the upload at the time." He added, "The track has since been removed," and "We are reviewing account activity and submission records and will cooperate through proper procedures."

This case is an example of copyright infringement arising from the growth of so-called DIY (Do It Yourself) independent distribution services that allow anyone to register music on major platforms for a fee. The structure that allows anyone to obtain an International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) and barcode without going through an official distributor and upload music to Apple Music has been exploited for illegal copying.

Damage is spreading faster especially for globally influential artists like Stray Kids. Stray Kids is a group that has topped the Billboard 200, the main US album chart, five consecutive times. Unofficial versions of new songs are repeatedly distributed worldwide within hours of release.

JYP Entertainment previously filed a DMCA subpoena in a US court in September 2026 against Symphonic Distribution, another distributor that allegedly distributed the song without authorization, seeking to identify the illegal distributor.

Kia is making a large-scale investment to significantly expand production capacity at its Anantapur plant in Andhra Pradesh, India. The strategy is to solidify its leadership in the fast-growing Indian auto market by expanding production infrastructure capable of handling locally tailored new models and diverse powertrains.

On Nov. 7, Kia India was reported to be planning a $1.5 billion (about 2.1 trillion won) investment in the Anantapur plant expansion. The plan is to raise annual production capacity from the current 300,000 units to 500,000 units by adding a new production line.

The capacity expansion is driven by clear sales growth in the Indian market. Kia sold 32,017 units in India in September 2026, up 41% from a year earlier and a record monthly high, then shipped 33,462 units in October 2026, breaking the record in just one month. Cumulative sales for January–October 2026 reached 286,470 units, already surpassing last year's annual total of 280,286 units.

In step with Kia's expansion plan, Korean parts makers are also strengthening their local supply chains. Three Korean auto parts companies—Hwashin, Seoyon E-Hwa, and Iwamet—recently signed investment memorandums of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh state government worth 16.14 billion rupees (about 266 billion won). They will build new manufacturing facilities near Kia's Anantapur plant and create more than 1,400 jobs.

The parts makers' nearby entry greatly improves Kia's local production efficiency. Vertically integrating key parts supply chains near the finished vehicle plant cuts logistics costs and shortens parts procurement time. The state government also plans to develop the area into an automotive industry cluster through this investment.

The investment also affects the reorganization of logistics networks in southern India. Korean parts makers had mainly been based near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, which has a port, but with this investment the supply chain is extending inland to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. This narrows the distance between parts assembly lines and the finished vehicle plant, enhancing the stability of the just-in-time production system.

With the expanded production line, Kia can respond flexibly to new model allocation and powertrain diversification. Kia is currently increasing sales in India centered on the Seltos and Sonet, and is preparing to expand its eco-friendly lineup including EVs and hybrids. The added capacity provides the physical foundation for producing these new models.

Detailed schedules for the Anantapur plant expansion are expected to be finalized at the Andhra Pradesh Investment Summit to be held next week in Visakhapatnam. Kia India said, "This expansion is aimed at meeting the evolving needs of Indian customers and supporting growing local vehicle demand."

Samsung Bioepis unveiled phase 3 results for SB27, a biosimilar of Keytruda (pembrolizumab), the world's top-selling immuno-oncology drug, for the first time at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2026 in the United States. The move is seen as a strategy to gain the upper hand in the race to capture a blockbuster market worth 44 trillion won (about $32 billion) in annual sales by leveraging large-scale clinical data.

On Nov. 6 (local time), Samsung Bioepis presented 24-week efficacy equivalence data from the global phase 3 trial of SB27 at SITC 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. In 555 patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, the objective response rate (ORR) at week 24 was 34.6% for SB27 and 37.9% for Keytruda, meeting the predefined equivalence criteria.

Secondary efficacy endpoints including progression-free survival (PFS), duration of response (DOR), and overall survival (OS) also showed similar results between the two arms. Safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) measures such as grade 3 or higher treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and immune-related adverse reactions showed no significant differences compared with the original drug.

Shin Dong-hoon, executive vice president and head of clinical development at Samsung Bioepis, said at the conference, "Oncology is an important focus area for Samsung Bioepis, and the development of SB27 demonstrates the company's continued commitment to advancing high-quality biosimilar medicines," adding, "Our goal is to establish robust clinical evidence to potentially provide biosimilar treatment options to oncology patients worldwide."

Keytruda, developed by US pharmaceutical company MSD, is an immune checkpoint inhibitor used for various cancers including melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. It is a blockbuster drug with global sales of $31.7 billion (about 44 trillion won) last year. With key substance patents set to expire in the United States in 2028 and in Europe in 2031, global pharmaceutical companies are competing fiercely to develop biosimilars.

Amid recent regulatory easing by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some competitors are revising development strategies, including scaling back phase 3 trials. Germany's Formycon filed for FDA approval in October 2026 with only phase 1 data and no comparative efficacy phase 3 trial, while Korea's Celltrion reduced its phase 3 patient count from 606 to 220. In contrast, Samsung Bioepis completed a large-scale phase 3 trial in 555 patients across 14 countries to secure efficacy data.

Based on this large-scale clinical data, Samsung Bioepis applied for approval of SB27 to Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in August 2026 and to the US FDA in October 2026. It sought approval for all 18 indications held by the original drug, including melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, and plans to compile final phase 3 data by the end of this year.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

KB Bank, the Indonesian subsidiary of KB Kookmin Bank, has abruptly postponed a planned $300 million (about 420 billion won) global dollar bond sale, citing market volatility. The bank revised its overseas funding plan after borrowing costs rose amid interest rate uncertainty and deteriorating internal financial soundness.

According to KB Bank on Nov. 6, the company has delayed its dollar-denominated senior global bond issuance scheduled for the second half of this year and is seeking alternative funding options. Chang Hyuk-im, finance director at KB Bank, said in an interview with Indonesian media outlet Kontan on Nov. 4, "We are continuously evaluating our funding strategy, including the dollar bond issuance plan, in response to global and domestic financial market dynamics."

KB Bank previously issued $300 million in three-year senior unsecured global bonds in October 2024. As the bonds mature in October 2027, the bank had been preparing an additional issuance for refinancing and preemptive liquidity. To this end, it completed administrative procedures including an external audit of financial statements as of the end of June this year.

However, weak earnings weighed on its fundraising. KB Bank posted a net loss of 184.1 billion rupiah (about 16.2 billion won) in the first three quarters of this year, swinging from a net profit of 288.1 billion rupiah a year earlier. In particular, its substandard-or-below loans (NPLs) ratio reached 10.26% as of the end of September, significantly worsening asset soundness.

With the global dollar bond issuance delayed, KB Bank tapped the Indonesian domestic market for alternative funding. In October, the bank issued subordinated bonds in the Indonesian market with coupon rates of 8.95% and 9.30% per annum to secure necessary funds.

Chang said, "The decision to postpone the bond issuance was made after comprehensively considering market conditions including interest rate trends and funding costs," adding, "Our long-term funding strategy remains unchanged, and we have full support from our parent company KB Kookmin Bank and KB Financial Group."

LG Energy Solution has signed a strategic partnership with Linyang Energy, a Chinese smart grid and renewable energy company, to tap the global energy storage system (ESS) market. The strategy is to participate in major grid projects in China, the world's largest ESS market, to strengthen its local presence and expand cooperation into the global market over the long term.

According to a report by China's Century New Energy Network on Nov. 6, LG Energy Solution's China subsidiary signed a business agreement with Linyang Energy the previous day at the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The event was attended by key executives including Kim Jae-kwon, vice president and chief strategy officer (CSO) of LG Energy Solution, Kim Woo-seob, global senior vice president, and Choi Ji-woong, head of China operations, as well as Lu Yonghua, founder and chairman of Linyang Group, and Zhang Tong, mayor of Nantong.

Through the agreement, the two companies will build a long-term cooperative relationship in ESS power plant development, system integration and smart operation and maintenance (O&M) services. They will first pursue a grid-side standalone ESS project in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, and jointly carry out a standalone ESS project in Nanjing. The Nanjing project in particular encompasses power plant development and construction, smart O&M and ancillary energy services.

According to a report by China's Sina.com, LG Energy Solution plans to supply prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to a 100 MW/400 MWh grid-side standalone ESS project to be built in the Jiangning Binjiang Development Zone in Nanjing. This is reported to be the first case of LG Energy Solution's prismatic LFP ESS batteries being applied to a grid project in China.

As the global ESS market has grown rapidly, LG Energy Solution has been increasing shipments and expanding its market share. According to market researcher SNE Research, LG Energy Solution's global ESS battery shipments in the first three quarters of this year reached 22.1 GWh, up about 355% from the same period last year. In North America, it shipped 18.4 GWh, sharply raising its market share from 4.8% to 15.0%.

Partner Linyang Energy is a smart grid and renewable energy solutions company founded in 1995 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2011. The two companies plan to form a dedicated task force and operate a high-level communication channel on a regular basis to ensure the pilot projects take root. Based on this, they will expand the scope of cooperation across China and into the global market.

The two companies said the agreement is an important step to integrate their resources, build a global ESS supply chain and pioneer the clean energy market. They added that it will serve as a new model for domestic and foreign companies to deepen cooperation in the eco-friendly energy industry.

Newtype Industries, a Korean defense artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has flatly denied reports that tests of its AI software Barbara by the Ukrainian military have been suspended. It dismissed concerns that diplomatic tensions between the two countries had severed private defense cooperation, saying it would continue technical validation on the battlefield without disruption.

According to Ukrainian military outlet Militarnyi and others on Nov. 6, Newtype CEO Cho Sung-won refuted the suspension reports as untrue. Citing Cho's remarks, US outlet The Diplomat reported on Nov. 5 that Ukrainian authorities had ordered the tests halted due to diplomatic friction between Korea and Ukraine.

Cho reportedly denied having given any interview to The Diplomat, calling the report false. He drew a line, saying neither he nor any Newtype official had ever spoken with a reporter from The Diplomat about the matter.

In an interview with Militarnyi, Cho said, "Helping Ukrainians defend their country is the greatest honor for me and Newtype." He made clear his intention to continue cooperation with Ukrainian units regardless of diplomatic friction.

At the center of the controversy, Barbara is a voice-based AI target processing system developed by Newtype. When forward observers report target information by voice via smartphones or other devices, the AI converts it into digital text that fire direction commanders can immediately review.

The system has cut strike lead time to within seconds from more than 10 minutes under the previous reliance on radio and manual typing. It speeds information processing by about 850 times compared with existing methods, resolving bottlenecks in the chain from target detection to the decision to strike.

Newtype has been conducting field tests of Barbara in cooperation with two Ukrainian brigades, arranged by Canadian consulting firm Reaktion Group. Equipped with functions that warn in advance of incorrect coordinates or possible strikes on densely populated civilian areas, it has drawn positive responses from local artillery units. The company plans to complete on-site demonstration tests by the end of 2026.

Founded in June 2025 by Cho, a Korea Military Academy graduate who served 12 years as an artillery officer, Newtype focuses on developing software that assists commanders' decision-making. Just five months after its founding, it set up a US subsidiary and has built credibility by securing a track record of actual use in overseas fields.

Newtype is currently conducting application tests with US Army units in addition to combat experiments with Ukraine's 92nd Brigade, while seeking to enter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) innovation program. It is focusing on accumulating operational results on foreign battlefields first, avoiding the limitations of Korea's defense contracting system, which adheres to long-cycle acquisition processes.

Motional, Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous driving joint venture, is moving to fully driverless robotaxi service in Las Vegas without safety drivers. As a key partner of global mobility platform Uber, it is expected to accelerate its push to expand market share and improve profitability in the U.S. driverless taxi market.

On Nov. 4, Uber Technologies announced during its third-quarter 2026 earnings call that Motional will soon transition to fully driverless commercial operations in Las Vegas.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said, "Right after launching autonomous vehicle company Zoox in Las Vegas this month, Motional will also transition to fully driverless operations."

Since March 2026, Motional has operated a pilot Ioniq 5 robotaxi service with Uber in key areas of Las Vegas. Until now, a safety driver has been seated behind the wheel as a precaution.

With this move, Motional will offer Level 4 autonomous driving service under U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), with no driver intervention. Passengers who hail a ride through the Uber app can use the driverless robotaxi at the same price as before, with no additional cost.

Uber posted solid results in the third quarter, driven by robust demand in global mobility and delivery markets. Revenue rose 10% year-on-year to $14.766 billion (about 20.65 trillion won).

Monthly active platform consumers (MAPC) grew 14% to 215 million. Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.88, up 35% from a year earlier, in line with market expectations.

However, in some global markets, driver supply failed to keep up with rising demand, causing mobility segment growth to slightly miss expectations. Uber is focusing on expanding its autonomous vehicle network to overcome this and improve profitability.

Uber plans to secure about 700 driverless vehicles on its platform by the end of this year and expand that to more than 2,000 by the end of 2027.

Khosrowshahi added, "Las Vegas will be the first city in the U.S. where riders can use two fully driverless partners through the Uber app."

LG Energy Solution is joining hands with a state-owned enterprise under the Nanjing city government to build a large-scale energy storage system (ESS) plant in China. The company will supply its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to a Chinese project for the first time, making a full-fledged entry into the LFP-based ESS market that has been virtually monopolized by Chinese companies.

According to Nanjing Urban Construction Group on Nov. 6, LG Energy Solution's Chinese subsidiary signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the group the previous day. The agreement was signed at the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai.

The two sides will build a 100-megawatt (MW), 400-megawatt-hour (MWh) grid-side standalone ESS plant in the Jiangning Binjiang Development Zone in Nanjing. The signing ceremony was attended by Nanjing Mayor Li Zhongjun and Kim Jae-kwon, chief strategy officer (CSO) of LG Energy Solution.

To build the plant, a subsidiary of Nanjing Urban Construction Group and a partner of LG Energy Solution will establish a separate joint venture. The new joint venture will oversee the entire process, from project investment and construction to future plant operation.

LG Energy Solution will exclusively supply prismatic LFP ESS battery cells for the plant. The structure completes the entire ESS value chain locally, from battery cell manufacturing to system integration, plant investment and actual operation.

The project is particularly significant as it marks the debut of LG Energy Solution's prismatic LFP batteries in the Chinese market. The 400MWh ESS plant to be built in the Jiangning Binjiang Development Zone will be the first local application of LG Energy Solution's prismatic LFP batteries.

LFP batteries use iron, a low-cost raw material, making them cheaper to manufacture than ternary batteries and less prone to fire, which has made them the standard for large-scale ESS markets. Chinese battery makers such as CATL and BYD have led the global LFP ESS supply chain, backed by their massive domestic market.

LG Energy Solution is ramping up mass production and increasing its global ESS market share. In August, it signed a long-term supply contract worth more than 5 trillion won (about $3.7 billion) with Lopal Tech, a Chinese battery materials company, for LFP cathode materials, securing a large-scale raw material supply network.

In North America, its key market, the company has secured an ESS order backlog of 160 gigawatt-hours (GWh) as of the end of the third quarter, expanding its business. It also participated in the third ESS central contract market auction recently led by the Korean government, using LFP batteries produced entirely at its Ochang plant in North Chungcheong Province.

Beyond the large-scale ESS plant, the two sides will expand cooperation into electric buses and waste batteries. They will promote a battery swapping business to improve electric bus operating efficiency and jointly create a circular economy ecosystem that recovers end-of-life batteries and turns them back into resources.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

LY Corp., an affiliate of Naver, will give shopping vouchers usable on its e-commerce platform to shareholders who hold its stock for the long term. The strategy is aimed at broadening its individual investor base and inducing mid-to-long-term investment to raise corporate value. It also seeks to directly promote use of its platform and strengthen the profitability of its e-commerce business.

On Nov. 5, LY Corp. announced through the Tokyo Stock Exchange that it had officially established the shareholder benefit program following a board resolution. Eligible shareholders are those who hold at least 5,000 LY Corp. shares as of March 31 each year and have maintained the holding for at least one year. The first benefit record date is set for March 31, 2027.

The benefit is a dedicated voucher that can be used on Yahoo! Japan Shopping. It is paid differentially based on the number of shares held: shareholders with 5,000 to less than 10,000 shares receive 25,000 yen (about 225,000 won), those with 10,000 to less than 50,000 shares receive 50,000 yen, those with 50,000 to less than 100,000 shares receive 250,000 yen, and those holding 100,000 shares or more receive vouchers worth up to 500,000 yen (about 4.5 million won). The vouchers are sent by mail around July each year and can be used on Yahoo Shopping, excluding some stores, until January of the following year, limited to residents of Japan. They cannot be transferred to others.

The shareholder return measure comes amid LY Corp.'s recent earnings growth. LY Corp. said in its fiscal 2026 second-quarter (July-September) results released the same day that revenue rose 11.5% year on year and adjusted EBITDA increased 20.9%. Improved profitability through linkage with major financial platforms such as PayPay was reflected in the results. Based on the strong performance, the company also raised its full-year revenue, operating profit, earnings per share (EPS) and dividend forecasts, further strengthening its shareholder-friendly policies.

Among Japanese listed companies, shareholder benefit programs offering their own products or services are used as a key means of attracting individual investors. LY Corp. is aiming for a lock-in effect by offering its e-commerce channel as a benefit, going beyond expanding cash dividends. Competition in the Japanese e-commerce market is currently fierce among large platforms such as Amazon Japan and Rakuten. LY Corp. plans to bring its shareholders into the platform as loyal customers to defend market share and induce additional transaction volume growth.

LY Corp. expects the program to help shareholders better understand its business and services. Since the shareholding requirement must be met continuously across three shareholder registry record dates (end of March, end of September, and end of March the following year), the impact on the actual number of shareholders and trading trends is expected to materialize after 2027, when the first vouchers are paid. Starting with the first voucher payment in 2027, LY Corp. will continue to encourage shareholders to use its services and pursue mid-to-long-term corporate value enhancement.

LS Cable & System's US subsidiary (LSCUS) has begun full operation of a new continuous catenary vulcanization (CCV) production line at its Tarboro plant in North Carolina and completed its first product shipment. The move aims to capture rapidly growing demand for medium-voltage (MV) power cables in North America driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and renewable energy.

On Nov. 6, LSCUS announced via its official LinkedIn account that it had completed the first shipment from the new CCV line at the Tarboro plant. "This achievement is an important milestone demonstrating the continued expansion of the Tarboro plant," the company said. "With the new line in operation, we have increased production capacity and shortened delivery times."

In February this year, LSCUS announced a $50 million (about 68 billion won) investment to expand manufacturing facilities at the Tarboro plant. The investment included adding two CCV lines that handle the insulation process for medium-voltage distribution cables. The line that shipped its first product this time is the first of those additions. The second line is targeted to begin operation in April next year.

The expansion is a response to surging demand for power infrastructure in the United States. With the recent generative AI boom driving investment in hyperscale data centers, expanding transmission and distribution networks for stable power supply has become an essential task. In particular, given the nature of US campus-style data centers that build multiple buildings on large sites, the use of medium-voltage cables connecting substations to individual buildings is reportedly growing rapidly.

The Tarboro plant has applied cleanroom systems at the level of semiconductor fabs to its medium-voltage cable processes to improve quality, and has reduced delivery times to about half those of competitors, increasing its local market share. With the new line in operation, medium-voltage cable production capacity has doubled, speeding up product supply to power companies and data center operators across the United States. Along with the facility expansion, the local plant workforce will increase from 250 to 335 employees.

LSCUS has secured long-term supply foundations for data center distribution systems worth more than 5 trillion won (about $3.7 billion) with global big tech companies through 2030. The Tarboro plant, which was launched in 2017 by converting a communication cable factory into a power production base, is accelerating its push into the North American power infrastructure market with the start of the new line.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

Naver has been recognized by S&P Global Ratings for the highest level of financial safety even after booking 12 trillion won (about $8.9 billion) in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure debt. At a time when large capital spending often leads directly to credit downgrades, Naver defended its financial risk by securing a buffer that allows it to delay equipment purchases based on customer orders, even while carrying the full amount of outside capital contributions as debt.

On Nov. 5, S&P announced that it maintained Naver's long-term issuer credit rating at 'A-' with a stable outlook. This contrasts with Meta's rating outlook being revised down to negative and Oracle's rating falling to 'BBB-', the lowest investment grade. The assessment reflected Naver's $9 billion (about 12 trillion won) AI factory infrastructure contract signed with alternative investment manager Brookfield on Oct. 27.

During the assessment, Naver's financial metrics deteriorated significantly. The $9 billion that Brookfield invested in special purpose company AssetCo is legally an equity investment. However, S&P included the full amount in adjusted debt because Naver Cloud pays equipment usage fees and parent company Naver provides payment guarantees exceeding 18 trillion won (about $13 billion), ensuring a certain recovery. As a result, there is a possibility that Naver's free cash flow could temporarily turn negative starting in 2027 as graphics processing unit (GPU) facility investment surges.

Nevertheless, the key reason Naver maintained the strongest 'minimal' financial risk profile is the high variability of its investment execution. Instead of purchasing equipment all at once, Naver signed a contract to sequentially procure equipment, starting with 55MW of operation in the first half of next year and reaching 200MW by 2028. The decisive defense was securing discretion to slow GPU imports or delay execution depending on long-term supply contracts with end customers.

Unlike traditional data center models that alone bear the depreciation of AI hardware and large borrowing risks, Naver's buffer structure—which realizes debt and assets sequentially only as customer demand is confirmed—eased the credit rating agency's concerns. As long as Naver holds the initiative in capital deployment and facility expansion, the analysis suggests that a surge in the debt ratio will not directly lead to a credit rating downgrade despite the massive nominal size of 12 trillion won (about $8.9 billion).

However, for this defense structure to remain effective, attracting large enterprise customers commensurate with the phased expansion targets must proceed without disruption. Even if delaying equipment imports avoids immediate liquidity risk, stalled infrastructure expansion could accumulate opportunity costs tied to long-term guarantees and fixed usage fees owed to AssetCo. Going forward, actual cloud utilization rates centered on data center GAK Sejong and the pace of securing global customers are expected to be key indicators of the A- rating's sustainability.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

Hyundai Steel’s plan to build a steel mill in Louisiana with an investment of over 8 trillion won (about $5.9 billion) has sparked controversy after the state government secretly provided a strikingly cheap land lease and hundreds of billions of won in public funds. As criticism grows that local politicians handed over massive taxpayer money behind closed doors to attract a large corporation, some observers say the company’s first eco-friendly steel production base in North America could face delays.

According to a social media post on Nov. 6 (local time) by The State of Freedom, a local conservative political group, the Louisiana state government has been criticized for providing massive public funds and land at a bargain price to attract the Hyundai Steel plant in Ascension Parish. In particular, the state government, the state Senate president and House speaker, and local officials reportedly signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) during the process and concealed the details.

Hyundai Steel is investing $5.8 billion (about 8.12 trillion won) to build an eco-friendly electric arc furnace steel mill on a 1,700-acre (about 2.08 million pyeong) site in the Modeste area of Ascension Parish. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in September 2026 with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun in attendance, and commercial production is targeted for 2029. The plant will serve as a forward base to supply steel plates needed for Hyundai Motor and Kia’s electric vehicle production in North America.

Behind the large-scale investment lies full support from the state government. According to Louisiana court records and complaints filed by civic groups, the state agreed to provide up to $200 million (about 280 billion won) to Hyundai Steel for land purchase and infrastructure construction costs. Hyundai Steel can lease the site for up to 99 years at $1 (about 1,400 won) per year, and after 32 years it has the right to buy the land for $99 (about 138,600 won). On top of that, tax breaks worth $1.2 billion (about 1.68 trillion won) were added.

Despite such extraordinary terms, the negotiation process was kept completely under wraps. It was later revealed that at least 23 people, including the Louisiana Senate president, House speaker and Ascension Parish officials, signed NDAs with Hyundai Steel, intensifying criticism of backroom dealing. The Ascension Parish government released related documents in September 2026, saying the confidentiality period had expired, but residents’ discontent has not subsided.

The opaque process drew strong backlash from the local community. Local environmental and civic groups, including the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, filed lawsuits against the state government. They pointed out that the state pushed through the agreement without proper approval from the bond commission or public hearings. Some local residents attended bond commission meetings and criticized that a company worth tens of billions of dollars should enter the state with its own funds without state tax support.

In response to the controversy, the state and local governments explained that the measures were unavoidable to attract investment. Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment said in a press release that without confidentiality, the parish would have been at a serious disadvantage in competing with other regions for high-wage jobs and economic opportunities. Hyundai Steel also tried to appease residents by touting a plan to create 1,300 permanent jobs.

Hyundai Steel is pushing through the controversy by highlighting the economic ripple effect on the local economy. To increase engagement with the community, the company held a groundbreaking ceremony in February 2026 for a training center with a $30 million (about 42 billion won) investment to operate a steel education program for local college students, and has begun full-scale construction.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

On Nov. 3, the NPS held a disciplinary committee and decided to dismiss the former real estate investment head. The move came after he was placed on standby in July and a re-audit was conducted for more than two months.

The official took office in December 2023 and had overseen the NPS's domestic and overseas real estate investment operations, which amount to over 70 trillion won (about $52 billion).

He has been accused of abusing his superior position by demanding the dismissal or replacement of executives at outsourced asset managers and pressuring them to hire certain individuals. Allegations were also raised that he verbally abused officials at asset managers who did not comply with his demands and pressured them with exclusion from fund commitments.

Conflict-of-interest controversy also arose during the process of replacing asset managers for large real estate assets.

A representative case was an attempt to change the outsourced asset manager for Centerfield in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, from IGIS Asset Management to Koramco Asset Management. The move sparked controversy over the appropriateness of the replacement reasons and procedures, and the proposal was rejected by the NPS's alternative investment committee.

Last year, the NPS also investigated the official over allegations of power abuse against outsourced asset managers but closed the internal audit after finding no wrongdoing. When similar misconduct allegations were raised again, he was removed from his duties and a re-audit was launched.

Edaily reported, based on data submitted by the NPS to the office of Rep. Lee In-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, that the internal audit confirmed serious regulatory violations including power abuse by the official.

As last year's audit ended with no charges and a re-audit led to dismissal, the appropriateness of the initial audit and the effectiveness of internal controls have also emerged as issues.

The duties of the real estate investment head have been handled concurrently by the infrastructure investment head since the official was placed on standby. Yonhap Infomax reported that decision-making related to new real estate investments has been suspended.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

Speaking at an international conference hosted by the World Economy Research Institute and KB Financial Group at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul, Fernandez said, "I think it is a question of timing," adding, "It could happen sooner."

He positively assessed the Korean government's will to reform capital markets and the progress made so far, but stressed that changes international investors can feel are needed.

Fernandez said, "MSCI, acting on behalf of international investors, needs to confirm their needs," explaining that while the Korean government is pursuing necessary reforms, institutional improvements must translate into implementation to reach the final stage.

He added that he conveyed to government officials that there are still difficulties with won settlement in the spot foreign exchange market.

On the sharp decline in U.S. and Korean stock markets after the U.S. midterm elections, he assessed that the long-term direction—that massive investment in artificial intelligence (AI) is necessary—is clear. However, he predicted that considerable volatility could occur as the technological revolution unfolds.

He warned that global economic growth is predicated on the expansion of data centers, and if data center construction halts, the global economy could enter a recession.

He also expressed the view that Korea, with its large share of trade, could be significantly affected, but this should be seen as difficulties experienced in the process of long-term change. He explained that given competition with China and other factors, it would be difficult for the United States to completely halt AI investment.

At the event held under the theme "New Growth Paradigm in the AI Era: The Evolving Role of Finance," concerns about overheating AI investment were also raised.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and professor at Columbia University, who attended via video, said, "The bubble is growing, and when it bursts, the impact on the global economy will be more severe."

Stiglitz pointed out that investors need to examine whether there are conditions to realize expected returns and whether there is a will to connect AI's potential to the benefit of humanity.

He suggested that AI opens the possibility of realizing "super abundance," and that the roles of the public and private sectors should be rebalanced, with investment directed to areas of high social value such as education, health, and care, so that economic gains are broadly shared.

Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, predicted that the Trump administration will focus on implementing investment commitments to the United States going forward.

Cha cited the possibility of Chinese military action and economic pressure, naming China as the most concerning external variable next year.

He noted that in a survey of voters in battleground states for the U.S. midterm elections, a majority, regardless of party affiliation, responded that foreign policy has a significant impact on daily life and that supporting U.S. democracy is important.

On the midterm election results, he positively assessed that U.S. politics could move toward the center and unpredictability could decrease.

The remarks are seen as signaling his intention to maintain the existing tariff policy amid attention on whether he would shift course after the Republican Party's crushing defeat in the midterm elections.

Trump told reporters at the White House that foreign companies are building about 3,000 factories and production facilities in the United States. "If I remove the tariffs now, all of these factories will stop construction," he said.

He said 99% of companies build factories in the United States because otherwise they would have to pay tariffs of 50%, 100%, 150%, or 250%. "Once they start construction, and once they start operating, they don't have to pay tariffs," he said.

He reiterated that withdrawing tariffs would leave half-built factories across the United States and lead to imports from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and others.

Trump stressed that once U.S. factories are operating, companies would not have to pay tariffs and prices would fall significantly. He also criticized those calling for tariff withdrawal as "foolish people."

The remarks came two days after the Republican Party's crushing defeat in the midterm elections. Despite the election loss, he reaffirmed his existing stance of using tariffs as a key trade tool.

However, it is unclear whether the 300% figure signals actual additional tariffs or is rhetoric to pressure investment in the United States.

Asked how he would use executive orders and protect his political legacy in his remaining two years in office, Trump said, "We will do a lot of things."

"You will see a lot in one week, two weeks. We have a lot in the works," he added.

He also left open the possibility of military action against Iran.

Trump said he has to decide between a deal with Iran or an attack. "If possible, I don't want to destroy the rest of Iran, but I may have to," he said.

He also claimed Iran would not do anything related to its nuclear program without U.S. approval.

On the possibility of replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump publicly drew a line, saying, "He is doing a fantastic job."

Concerns are also rising that Trump, whose domestic political standing has weakened after the midterm election defeat, could continue a hard-line approach in foreign policy, security, and trade, where the president has broad discretion.

Apple has successfully raised $7.5 billion (about 10.17 trillion won) in the U.S. corporate bond market. Unlike rival big tech companies that have taken on massive debt to build large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, Apple's strategy of refraining from excessive capital spending has earned strong investor confidence, according to market analysts.

According to industry sources on Nov. 6, Apple issued investment-grade corporate bonds with seven maturities in the U.S. market on Nov. 5 (local time). Institutional investor orders reached about $31 billion (about 42.036 trillion won), more than four times the planned issuance amount. The sale came shortly after major U.S. technology companies issued about $50 billion (about 67.8 trillion won) in bonds to fund AI data center construction and other purposes.

The most notable aspect is the gap in borrowing costs with rival big tech companies. The spread on Apple's longest-dated bond, the 2036 note (10-year), was set at 0.55 percentage point over U.S. Treasuries, 0.25 percentage point lower than the initial guidance. In contrast, Microsoft, which recently raised funds for large-scale AI investments, saw a spread of 0.65 percentage point on a similar maturity, while Meta Platforms and Oracle recorded 1.6 percentage points and 3.1 percentage points, respectively. Even among large technology stocks, the credit premium demanded by the market differed depending on the scale of AI capital expenditures (CAPEX) and the potential damage to cash flow.

This rate differential stems from each company's capital allocation strategy. Competitors are pouring enormous sums into power facilities and their own data centers, but there is market skepticism about whether this spending will be recovered through actual cash flow. Apple, on the other hand, has pursued an on-device strategy of partnering with external models and enhancing the competitiveness of its mobile devices rather than expanding infrastructure aggressively. The absence of astronomical capital expenditures has lowered the risk of damage to free cash flow (FCF), giving investors a sense of stability.

The purpose of the funding is also a key factor boosting creditworthiness. In contrast to other big tech companies that rely on external borrowing to cover infrastructure investment costs, Apple plans to use the $7.5 billion raised for shareholder returns such as stock buybacks and dividends, as well as general operating funds. Analysts say Apple has opportunistically taken advantage of the low-interest-rate environment based on its solid financial structure, which carries an 'AA+' rating from S&P Global Ratings.

The bond sale's success is particularly significant as it came amid concerns that data center permitting and power grid regulations could be tightened following the recent U.S. midterm elections. At the time, the stock market plunged and credit default swap (CDS) premiums hedging default risk on investment-grade corporate bonds surged as much as 5.9% intraday, but Apple's bonds attracted record buying interest.

Uncertainty over AI profitability and the direction of infrastructure regulation is expected to keep market jitters alive until these issues become clearer. The gap in funding costs between companies that expand facilities through aggressive borrowing and those that restrain borrowing based on strong cash generation is expected to become a new barometer for the bond market.

Global asset manager Fidelity (FMR LLC) has secured a 10.2% stake in Webtoon Entertainment, a subsidiary of Naver. It has been increasing its stake amid heightened share price volatility since the company's Nasdaq listing in 2024, solidifying its position as a major shareholder.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Nov. 6, Fidelity and Abigail Johnson, chairman of Fidelity, reported holding 10.2% (13,833,054 shares) of Webtoon Entertainment as of Nov. 5 (local time). The filing reflects holdings as of Sept. 30. Fidelity has sole voting power over 13,832,581 of these shares and sole dispositive power over all 13,833,054 shares.

Webtoon Entertainment listed on the Nasdaq in June 2024 at an offering price of $21, entering the global content market. However, its recent earnings fell short of market expectations, sending the stock down to around $10. According to U.S. financial media Seeking Alpha, Webtoon Entertainment's revenue in the third quarter of this year rose about 9% year-on-year, but active users fell by 14.5 million and adjusted EBITDA plunged, putting downward pressure on the stock.

Fidelity used the share price decline as an opportunity to increase its stake. Fidelity said in a recent fund management report that it viewed the drop in Webtoon Entertainment's share price as a buying opportunity and added to its position. Fidelity holds Webtoon Entertainment shares across multiple funds, including its Emerging Markets Fund. According to SEC filings, Naver is the largest shareholder with 59.4%, followed by LY Corp. with 23.2%. Fidelity's purchase brings its stake to the level of the third-largest shareholder.

In the filing, Fidelity said the stake acquisition was "not for the purpose of changing or influencing control of the issuer, and was acquired in the ordinary course of business." As the stake increase was for pure investment purposes, whether Webtoon Entertainment can improve profitability in North America and other global markets and expand its intellectual property (IP) business to regain its early post-listing growth will be a key factor determining the stock's future performance.

Coupang is expanding its first fulfillment center in Taoyuan, Taiwan, to broaden its infrastructure for medium and large cargo delivery. The move comes after the company recently received approval from Taiwanese authorities for a large capital injection, as it continues to upgrade its logistics network.

Coupang announced on Nov. 5 that it will expand the operational space of its first logistics center in Taoyuan, Taiwan. The expansion is aimed at increasing storage capacity for medium and large products and improving delivery efficiency amid continued growth in its local business.

Coupang has rapidly expanded its logistics infrastructure since entering the Taiwanese market in October 2022. Earlier this year, it launched a fourth smart logistics center in Taoyuan, establishing a next-day delivery network called Rocket Delivery covering about 70% of Taiwan. Coupang, which operates a Rocket Installation service in Korea for delivering and installing home appliances and furniture, will directly strengthen its capability to handle bulky cargo in Taiwan through the expansion of the No. 1 center.

The company has also secured funding to support the infrastructure expansion. Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs Investment Commission approved on Oct. 28 a capital increase of 25.5 billion Taiwan dollars (about 1.1 trillion won) applied for by Coupang. This was the single largest amount, accounting for 68.7% of total foreign investment approved that day, and the funds will be used for additional construction of local fulfillment centers and expansion of product categories.

Taiwan's e-commerce market is currently contested by Singapore-based Shopee and local companies Momo and PChome. According to statistics from Taiwan's retail research institute Weilai Liutong, Coupang Taiwan's average monthly visits in the first half of this year reached 9.59 million, up 107.7% from a year earlier. While visits to existing competitors have stagnated, Coupang has increased its market share by leveraging large-scale logistics investment and delivery speed.

Coupang's logistics infrastructure expansion also opens new export channels for Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By handling customs clearance, logistics, and local delivery in one package, Coupang has lowered entry barriers for companies lacking their own export capabilities. More than 10,000 Korean consumer goods SMEs have now entered Taiwan through Coupang.

Coupang invested more than $3 billion (about 4.17 trillion won) from 2022 to 2024 in logistics automation and artificial intelligence (AI) systems across the Asia-Pacific region. The company announced it will continue long-term investment by expanding its logistics infrastructure from the current northern Taoyuan base to central Taichung and southern Kaohsiung, covering all of Taiwan.

Mercuria, a Swiss global commodity trader, chartered a very large crude carrier (VLCC) from Korean shipping company Sinokor Merchant Marine to transport crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East. The deal is notable for including special charter terms designed to reduce the cost burden from shipping delays in the high-risk area.

According to WWSA, a shipping and logistics research firm, on Nov. 6, a cargo trader at Mercuria recently chartered a VLCC from Sinokor Petrochemical to move crude oil stuck at the Strait of Hormuz. The trader said he used a specially designed declining demurrage clause in the process. WWSA disclosed the details on its official LinkedIn account on Nov. 5.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint through which about 20% of the world's seaborne crude oil passes. Whenever geopolitical tensions rise, risks such as vessel seizures, hijackings and navigation restrictions emerge, making it a route that can offer high returns but carries equally high risk. If a ship cannot pass through the strait and has to wait, or if unloading is delayed, the demurrage that the charterer must pay to the shipowner can rise sharply. As geopolitical instability in the Middle East has deepened recently, delays in the sailing schedules of ships passing through the strait have become more frequent.

The declining demurrage clause that Mercuria agreed with Sinokor is a special contract designed so that the daily demurrage rate gradually decreases as the delay period lengthens. Under a standard charter contract, a fixed demurrage rate is charged in proportion to the number of waiting days, but with this clause the charterer's financial burden can be limited even if a force majeure long-term wait occurs. It reflects how global traders manage shipping risk in preparation for geopolitical uncertainty.

The Sinokor VLCC deployed for this shipment can carry about 2 million barrels of crude oil at a time. The daily charter rate for a VLCC reaches tens of thousands of dollars depending on market conditions, and if such a capital-intensive vessel is tied up for a long period, demurrage can erode the profitability of the entire cargo shipment. Mercuria and Sinokor applied modified terms instead of a standard contract to share this cost risk.

While many global shipping lines are rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to avoid Middle East risk, Sinokor put its ship into Hormuz crude transport under a special contract. The shipowner and charterer structured the deal in a way that exchanges risk and return.

As geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continue, special contract cases to manage cargo transport risk are emerging one after another. With Sinokor's tanker now carrying crude through the Strait of Hormuz, the contract structures between shipping lines and traders on high-risk routes are drawing fresh attention.

Lotte Rental, whose largest shareholder has changed to a global private equity fund and which has begun the process of delisting from the KOSPI market, has raised large-scale funds in the bond market. Investors appear to have placed more trust in the industry leader's solid cash generation than in credit risk concerns stemming from the change in control and the transition to an unlisted company.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's DART electronic disclosure system on Nov. 6, Lexicon Korea Holdco, a special purpose company established by global private equity firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG), began a tender offer for 14,097,325 common shares of Lotte Rental, or a 38.83% stake, at 59,000 won per share. The plan is to invest a total of 831.7 billion won (about $614 million) to buy all remaining shares held by minority shareholders, convert Lotte Rental into a wholly owned subsidiary, and then voluntarily delist the company. TPG had earlier acquired a 61.17% stake held by Lotte Group affiliates for 1.3105 trillion won (about $967 million) on Oct. 30, becoming the largest shareholder.

The process of a large conglomerate affiliate changing to a private equity ownership structure and then being delisted typically acts as a strong negative factor in the bond market. This is because the possibility of financial support from the existing conglomerate group in times of crisis disappears, and once the company becomes unlisted, disclosure obligations are reduced, lowering information accessibility. The fact that private equity funds mainly use leveraged buyouts and may increase dividends or artificially alter the capital structure to recover acquisition costs also threatens creditworthiness.

However, the atmosphere at the site where Lotte Rental issued marketable bonds was different. In the book-building for 150 billion won (about $111 million) worth of unsecured public corporate bonds conducted on Oct. 20, buy orders totaled 644 billion won (about $475 million), more than four times the offering amount. It is noteworthy that institutional investors aggressively bet on long-term bonds despite the high uncertainty of the transition period. The three-year tranche, which was allocated 20 billion won (about $15 million), attracted 199 billion won (about $147 million) in orders, and the interest rate was set 7 bp lower than the individual average yield.

Behind this strong demand is the unwavering fundamental strength of its main business. Lotte Rental is the industry leader with a market share of around 19% based on the number of registered vehicles. Its long-term rental car business generates stable monthly cash inflows. In the third quarter of this year, it posted consolidated revenue of 775.4 billion won (about $572 million) and operating profit of 92.9 billion won (about $69 million), up 2.3% and 4.4%, respectively, from the same period last year. By increasing the proportion of high-margin products such as used-car long-term rentals, it achieved an operating margin of 12.0%.

The clear purpose of the funds raised also eased credit investors' concerns. The rental car business has a high proportion of short-term borrowings because it first secures vehicle assets with debt and then recovers funds through rental fees and used-car sales proceeds. Lotte Rental plans to use the funds raised from this bond issuance to repay 80 billion won (about $59 million) in short-term electronic bonds and 70 billion won (about $52 million) in commercial paper (CP) maturing this month. It preemptively blocked refinancing risk by rolling over short-term debt into mid-to-long term corporate bonds.

However, the financial changes that will come after the delisting is completed are key indicators that bond investors will need to watch. Lexicon Korea Holdco raised 1.336 trillion won (about $986 million) in large-scale acquisition financing from financial institutions in the process of acquiring Lotte Rental. Once the delisting is completed and Lotte Rental becomes a wholly owned subsidiary, Lexicon Korea Holdco could abnormally raise Lotte Rental's dividend payout ratio to cover its massive interest costs. Credit rating agencies are also likely to remove the rating uplift that Lotte Rental enjoyed as a Lotte Group affiliate. Whether Lotte Rental can defend its current credit rating and curb rising borrowing costs based solely on its own fundamentals will determine its mid-to-long term success.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

Internet-only banks are locking in loan pricing policies that disadvantage prime borrowers for credit-line loans, known as negative bank accounts. To defend against deteriorating asset soundness from expanded lending to mid-to-low credit borrowers, they are artificially raising the spread on top-tier credit borrowers who carry minimal default risk. As the founding rationale of "rate competitiveness" fades, concerns are growing that high-credit customers, now paying more than at commercial banks, could leave in large numbers.

According to loan rate disclosures by the Korea Federation of Banks on Nov. 6, the three internet-only banks—K bank, KakaoBank and Toss Bank—charged an average rate of 7.16% per annum on new credit-line loans in September 2026. In particular, the average rate for the highest credit score band of 951–1,000, where default risk is virtually nil and the lowest funding and operating costs should apply, reached 6.54% per annum. That is 1.10 percentage points higher than the 5.44% average charged by the five major commercial banks—KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank—for the same credit band.

The structural problem is bigger than the absolute rate gap. Loan rates are normally calculated by adding a spread reflecting the borrower's credit risk and the bank's margin to a reference rate linked to the base rate, then subtracting preferential rates. But internet banks have sharply raised spreads on high-credit borrowers. Since the end of last year, the average spread for the 951–1,000 credit score band at the five major commercial banks fell by 0.08 percentage point, while the average spread at K bank and KakaoBank rose by 0.59 percentage point. In effect, they are lending to their highest-credit customers with an extra margin on top.

Because of this pricing structure, the interest burden felt by high-credit borrowers has far outpaced the rise at commercial banks. KakaoBank's rate for the 951–1,000 band jumped 1.09 percentage points from 5.37% at the end of last year to 6.46% in September, and K bank rose 1.02 percentage points from 5.78% to 6.80%. Over the same period, the average rate for high-credit borrowers at the five major commercial banks rose only 0.71 percentage point from 4.73% to 5.44%. Even amid the common macro environment of rising market rates, internet banks widened the rate inversion artificially by raising spreads.

Behind this pricing lies the structural constraint of meeting mandatory mid-to-low credit lending ratios and managing asset soundness. Under financial regulator rules, internet banks must supply a certain proportion of their total unsecured credit loans to mid-to-low credit borrowers. As delinquency rates among mid-to-low credit borrowers have soared amid a prolonged economic slowdown, pressure to build loan-loss provisions has grown. The prevailing analysis is that to offset this, internet banks are attaching higher spreads to credit-line loans for high-credit borrowers—whose risk weights are low and principal recovery is certain—to preserve interest income.

The paradox is compounded by the fact that the average credit scores of new credit-line borrowers at internet banks are uniformly rising. KakaoBank's average credit score for new credit-line borrowers climbed 94 points from 809 at the end of last year to 903 in September, while Toss Bank rose 88 points from 836 to 924. K bank also showed a clear shift toward higher credit, from 932 to 958. Even though the credit risk of customers turning to internet banks has fallen sharply, the rates charged to them are approaching 7% per annum, increasing their real financing costs.

According to credit assessment principles, spreads should shrink as a borrower's probability of default falls. But the current loan rate structure at internet banks shows an abnormal pattern of shifting higher costs onto low-risk prime borrowers. In the mid-credit band of 751–800, the average spread at the three internet banks rose 0.92 percentage point from the end of last year to 4.94%, while commercial banks actually cut theirs by 0.47 percentage point—further evidence of an industry-wide strategy to expand loan margins.

As a result, the competitiveness internet banks once touted—low costs and reasonable rates—has become hard to find in the credit-line loan market. A strategy of widening deposit-loan margins on prime borrowers may support net interest margins in the short term, but over the long term it could do more harm than good. High-credit customers are highly rate-sensitive and tend to move to any financial institution offering even slightly better terms. The scale of high-credit customers leaving for commercial banks through refinancing loan infrastructure is expected to become a key indicator for gauging internet banks' future profitability and the reliability of their credit assessment models.

HD Construction Equipment has obtained an A+ credit rating on its unsecured bonds. The upgrade reflects the engine business it acquired through the absorption merger with HD Hyundai Infracore in January this year, which has effectively offset demand volatility in the construction equipment market.

Korea Investors Service and Korea Ratings on Nov. 5 raised HD Construction Equipment's unsecured bond rating from A to A+. They also assigned a new A2+ rating to its commercial paper (CP), a short-term funding indicator, placing it near the highest tier.

The key driver behind the upgrade is the restructuring of its profit base through the merger. Previously, HD Construction Equipment and HD Hyundai Infracore competed in finished machinery under different brands, leaving them directly exposed to earnings shocks from global downturns. With the launch of the combined entity, industrial and power generation engines and aftermarket (AM) businesses were brought together, securing a cash generator to defend against external shocks.

The engine business has significantly lifted company-wide profitability. HD Construction Equipment's cumulative preliminary results for the first three quarters of this year showed consolidated revenue of 6.8305 trillion won (about $5 billion) and operating profit of 597.3 billion won (about $441 million), for an operating margin of 8.7%. That marks a clear improvement from the combined operating margins of the two companies before the merger, which stood at 5% in 2024 and 5.5% in 2025.

The engine division posted cumulative revenue of 1.1162 trillion won (about $824 million) through the third quarter, up 12.6% from a year earlier, with an operating margin of 14.5%. Expanding demand for industrial and emergency power generation drove the strong results. Following the completion of its new Gunsan plant in October, the company signed a 387.9 billion won (about $286 million) contract with U.S.-based Enchanted Rock to supply gas power generation engines, securing work through 2027–2028 and underpinning earnings sustainability.

The engine business's high profitability has served as a buffer against external uncertainty. In the third quarter, the construction equipment finished products division slowed due to logistics disruptions from the prolonged Middle East conflict and the stronger won. In the past, this would have eroded overall profitability, but parts internalization and the high-margin aftermarket segment defended company-wide cash flow, leading the impact to be assessed as a temporary external factor rather than a structural collapse in demand.

The financial structure has also stabilized on the back of solid cash flow. As of end-September, the consolidated debt-to-equity ratio was 85.5% and the debt-to-assets ratio was just 20.3%, while total borrowings stood at 1.7 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). With annual EBITDA generation of around 1 trillion won (about $738 million), the company now has the capacity to cover annual funding needs of about 400 billion won (about $295 million), including future capital expenditures, without external borrowing.

Entering the A+ rating and securing the A2+ CP rating marks an important turning point in the funding market. In the construction equipment industry, where the capital-intensive nature of the business requires substantial working capital for orders and equipment replacement, a rating upgrade reduces the spread on corporate bond issuance and meaningfully lowers liquidity management costs.

Going forward, the key metric to watch is whether the company can maintain high profitability in the engine business while proving cost savings from global network integration in actual earnings. It must control overlapping marketing costs for the Hyundai and Develon brands and realize the benefits of dealer network integration centered on emerging markets to sustain its upgraded creditworthiness. Whether the growth of the newly added engine business can continue to offset macro risks such as stronger trade barriers after the U.S. presidential election or a prolonged global construction downturn will be the core test of its future strength.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

French engineering company GTT has won a cargo hold design contract from Samsung Heavy Industries for two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers ordered by Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line). The vessels, which Samsung Heavy Industries won from K Line last month for about 670 billion won (about $494 million), will be fitted with GTT's high-efficiency cargo hold technology and delivered to the shipowner in 2029.

According to GTT on Nov. 4, the company signed a contract with Samsung Heavy Industries in the fourth quarter of this year to design cargo holds for two 174,000-cubic-meter newbuild LNG carriers. The vessels will be built for Japan's K Line and are scheduled for delivery by the first quarter of 2029.

The cargo holds of the two vessels will be equipped with GTT's proprietary membrane containment system, Mark III Flex. The technology increases the thickness of the cargo hold insulation to suppress the natural boil-off of LNG transported at a cryogenic temperature of minus 163 degrees Celsius. Applying the Mark III Flex system can lower the daily boil-off rate (BOR) to 0.085% of tank capacity, improving transport efficiency.

The cargo hold design contract is a follow-up to the order Samsung Heavy Industries won early last month. Samsung Heavy Industries disclosed in October that it had won an order for two LNG carriers from an Asian shipowner for a total of 672.2 billion won (about $496 million). The construction price per vessel is about 336 billion won (about $248 million), and shipping media reports at the time said the shipowner was Japan's K Line.

Samsung Heavy Industries has been racking up orders in the commercial vessel segment this year, including the K Line order. As of early last month, the company had won orders for 20 LNG carriers this year alone, with total commercial vessel orders reaching $8 billion (about 11.16 trillion won).

That exceeds its annual order target of $5.7 billion (about 7.95 trillion won) by 140%. Including the offshore plant segment, total orders reached 48 vessels worth $12.4 billion (about 17.3 trillion won), achieving 89% of the annual target.

K Line, the shipowner, has been expanding its LNG carrier fleet on the back of long-term contracts. Under its Environmental Vision 2050, K Line is reportedly planning to increase its LNG fleet to 65 vessels by 2026.

In September, K Line took delivery of the Toho Emerald, a 174,000-cubic-meter newbuild LNG carrier built by Samsung Heavy Industries, and added it to its fleet.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 8, 2026.)

Theborn Korea, a restaurant franchise company, has signed a new cooperation agreement with UNOX, an Italian global commercial oven specialist. The partnership is expected to accelerate the adoption of cooking consistency and kitchen automation systems, key elements for multi-store franchises.

According to UNOX's official LinkedIn account on Nov. 5, Theborn Korea representatives recently visited UNOX City, the company's headquarters complex in Padua, Italy, and signed a cooperation agreement with UNOX CEO Nicola Michelon. UNOX said, "We are proud to start a new collaboration with Theborn Korea, one of the top restaurant franchise groups in Korea."

UNOX, founded in 1990, specializes in commercial ovens and food processing systems and leads the global restaurant and bakery markets. Last year, the company invested 100 million euros (about 140 billion won) in Padua, Italy, to open UNOX City, a 130,000-square-meter production, logistics, and research complex, significantly boosting its global production capacity. Its global revenue last year was 360 million euros (about 530 billion won), marking 17 consecutive years of growth. Cumulative revenue for the first three quarters of this year reached 250 million euros (about 370 billion won), up 5% from the same period last year.

UNOX has recently been focusing on building an automation ecosystem for the entire kitchen, going beyond simple cooking equipment. After acquiring food processing automation company Roboqbo last year, it continues to expand its smart oven lineup. CEO Nicola Michelon recently emphasized in public remarks, "The kitchen of the future will be an ecosystem where various technologies cooperate to autonomously manage each stage of the production process."

With this agreement, Theborn Korea is expected to actively utilize UNOX's technology to improve the efficiency of franchise store kitchens. Theborn Korea, which operates various restaurant brands including Paik's Coffee, Hong Kong Banjeom, and Saemaeul Restaurant, has been increasing the adoption of food tech such as cooking robots and smart ovens in response to rising labor costs and labor shortages. Given the nature of franchises, which must deliver the same taste across numerous stores, the role of commercial ovens that precisely control temperature and humidity is becoming increasingly important.

Global credit rating agency S&P has maintained Naver's existing credit rating in relation to the company's massive artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment. Although the entire capital injection from Brookfield was counted as debt, increasing pressure on financial metrics, S&P expects Naver to control risk by adjusting the pace of business expansion.

On Nov. 5, S&P Global Ratings announced it affirmed Naver's long-term issuer credit rating and senior unsecured bond rating at A- each, with a stable outlook.

The key issue in the assessment was the funding structure of Naver's global AI factory business. Last month, Naver signed a $9 billion (about 12 trillion won) computing infrastructure procurement agreement with Brookfield. Under the deal, Brookfield will fully fund a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Asset Co, which will acquire key infrastructure such as graphics processing units (GPUs) and data centers, and Naver Cloud will lease and use them.

S&P included the entire $9 billion Brookfield is injecting into Asset Co in Naver's adjusted debt. Since parent company Naver guarantees the usage fees Naver Cloud must pay to Asset Co, S&P judged the capital to be debt-like, effectively supporting a fixed return distribution to Brookfield.

S&P analyzed that Naver's free cash flow will turn negative as the company sharply increases capital expenditure for GPU procurement from 2027 to 2028. However, the structure is designed so that once Asset Co begins returning profits to Brookfield in the form of dividends and capital reductions, Naver's adjusted debt will decrease in proportion to those amounts.

Behind the decision not to downgrade the rating despite the surge in adjusted debt is Naver's phased expansion strategy. Naver plans to sequentially increase data center capacity from 55 megawatts (MW) in the first half of 2027 to 200 MW by 2028. S&P assessed that this structure allows Naver to control the pace of investment and properly manage financial and business risks.

"Naver guarantees the contractual payment structure between Naver Cloud and Asset Co, which ultimately supports stable distributions to Brookfield," S&P said. The agency also forecast that Naver's adjusted debt leverage will slightly exceed 1x in 2028 and then gradually decline.

Wärtsilä, a Finnish energy technology company, will supply dual-fuel engines and ultra-large propulsion equipment for the first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) production facility in the United States being built by Samsung Heavy Industries. The customized solutions are expected to accelerate development of offshore gas fields in North America by enabling the facility to evacuate safely and operate reliably even in extreme marine environments such as hurricanes.

According to Wärtsilä on Nov. 6, the company won a contract in the second quarter to supply engines and thrusters for the first unit of the Delfin LNG project by Delfin Midstream of the United States. Delfin 1 will be designed and built by Samsung Heavy Industries and installed about 40 nautical miles (about 74 kilometers) off the coast of Louisiana.

The facility will have an annual LNG export capacity of 4.4 million tons and is scheduled to begin commercial operations in early 2030. Key equipment supplied by Wärtsilä will be delivered starting in the third quarter of 2027.

Wärtsilä will supply three 46DF dual-fuel engines along with an advanced exhaust gas treatment system featuring selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and oxidation catalyst (Oxicat) technologies. This supports eco-friendly operations by improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

The project will also feature three of the largest custom-built, hull-mounted thrusters Wärtsilä has ever produced. These thrusters use a patented design that allows maintenance and repairs to be performed internally without dry-docking the vessel, minimizing downtime. The design reflects the characteristics of the Gulf of Mexico, where extreme weather events are frequent.

Björn Axfors, senior hull and marine engineer at Delfin Midstream, said, "For an FLNG off the coast of Louisiana, the ability to quickly disconnect from mooring and evacuate to a safe location during a hurricane warning is essential. The capability to lift the thrusters for onboard maintenance before hurricane season is part of the design to ensure the safety of the asset and crew."

Jung Young-jin, executive vice president of Samsung Heavy Industries, added, "The proven dual-fuel engines and steerable thrusters contributed to meeting the project's special requirements." Delfin FLNG 1 is the first FLNG project in US history, with Samsung Heavy Industries solely performing the entire engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) process worth about $2.9 billion (about 4.06 trillion won).

Bernd Bertram, vice president of Wärtsilä Marine, said, "As demand for flexible energy infrastructure grows, interest in FLNG is also increasing. By combining propulsion systems and ship integration capabilities, we are helping customers meet both current operational needs and future expectations."

SoluM will supply electronic shelf label (ESL) solutions to all stores of Xcite, Kuwait's largest electronics retailer. The company is accelerating global market diversification by expanding its supply chain from Europe and North America to major retail channels in the Middle East.

SoluM announced on Nov. 5 via its official LinkedIn that it will supply ESL solutions to all Xcite stores under Kuwait's Alghanim Group. The adoption is part of Xcite's digital transformation initiative to improve operational efficiency at its offline stores.

Xcite is the leading local electronics retail brand operated by multinational Alghanim Industries. It has about 40 large offline stores across Kuwait and carries more than 300 electronics and IT device brands from around the world.

ESL is a device that displays product prices, detailed information, and discount promotions on electronic tags in real time using central server communication. Once SoluM's system is fully deployed at Xcite stores, the manual work of store staff replacing paper price tags will be eliminated.

This reduces labor costs and enables error-free price synchronization between online and offline stores, providing accurate shopping information to consumers. Given that electronics stores handle tens of thousands of products, the ability to immediately respond to frequent price changes is also a key reason for adoption.

SoluM has recently been diversifying its customer base beyond Europe, its traditional main market, to the Middle East, North America, and Central and South America. This is the result of new products featuring proprietary communication technology that increases data transmission speed and improves in-store visibility through display brightness adjustment.

Overall performance growth is also continuing. SoluM recorded a 79% year-on-year increase in consolidated operating profit in the second quarter of this year. While the core ESL business is delivering regional diversification results, the company is also expanding new businesses by conducting proof-of-concept (PoC) tests for EV charging modules with a state-owned power utility in the Middle East.

SoluM said, "We are proud to support the advancement of Xcite's digital store operations across Kuwait."