[THE INVESTOR] After its debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 15, LINE Corp.’s share soared around 52 percent to 5,000 yen (US$47.40) from its offer price of 3,300 yen, as of 10:39 a.m. The opening price stood at 4,900 yen. A Line character shop in Seoul / The InvestorTrading of the company’s share in Tokyo was a bit delayed early in the morning as buyers outnumbered sellers around four times.Line is the mobile messenger service operator owned by Korean Internet portal giant Naver (chairman

[THE INVESTOR] The head of Internet giant Naver who is in the hot seat for his alleged involvement in making illegal profits from game developer Nexon’s 2006 initial public offering is likely to be summoned by prosecutors soon.Naver CEO Kim Sang-hun reportedly made profits with inside information for Nexon’s IPO with borrowed money. Naver CEO Kim Sang-hun /The InvestorKim, prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon and Park Seong-joon, a director of Boston Consulting Group, purchased shares valued at 425 million

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are expected to benefit from an increasing demand for high-end TV products, including ultra-high definition TVs, at home and abroad, according to a report July 14.The report by the Science Ministry and Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute cites the planned commercialization of UHD broadcasting services in Korea in February 2017 as the main reason behind the sales increase in the coming years.UHD TVs valued at 1.2

[THE INVESTOR] Mark Hurd, the co-chief executive of California-based Oracle, may be close to striking software deals with local conglomerates that could include Samsung and POSCO, according to those close to the matter.The co-CEO of the San Francisco-based company arrived in Seoul on July 14 to meet with executives from these partner firms. “There may be several big deals being negotiated behind the scenes,” said one industry watcher, declining to be identified.Mark Hurd, co-CEO of US software g

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics outran other global integrated device manufacturers in the semiconductor foundry sector in the Jan.-March period in terms of sales, according to market research firm IHS on July 13.The Korean chip company’s foundry business is forecast to have earned $613 million in sales in the first quarter, the largest among the global device manufacturers. The figure is three times more than that of runner-up Micron, which made $198 million.Samsung Electronics’ mobile appli

[THE INVESTOR] SK Holdings C&C, a data services firm, said July 13 that it would work with a local robot company to develop new robot solutions utilizing up-to-date artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies.Signing a partnership deal on the day at its headquarters in Bundang, the C&C and Robocare vowed to collaborate to develop the robot solutions.The C&C will deploy its AI, big data and cloud computing technologies for the joint project while the local robot maker will make use o

[THE INVESTOR] Electronic components producer LG Innotek has recently decided to build a camera module plant in Vietnam, reportedly pushed by Apple to reduce supply prices. According to news reports, the Korean firm plans to build a new camera module plant in Haiphong City, Vietnam, with the full capacity operation scheduled to start from 2018. LG Innotek’s camera modules. LG Innotek“Apple has requested LG Innotek to newly establish a camera module plant in Vietnam where labor cost is much cheap

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has sent out an invitation to the global news media for its upcoming Galaxy Note 7 launch event in New York City on Aug. 2.Launch events for the new smartphone will also take place simultaneously in Rio de Janeiro and London, according to the company. Samsung will also live stream the events on its websit (www.samsung.com).As widely rumored, the new smartphone, the sixth of the Note lineup, will be named the Galaxy Note 7 to align its nu

[THE INVESTOR] HAAN, an electronics firm well known for its steam vacuum cleaner, had its capital completely impaired last year while having posted an operating loss for two years in a row, according to news reports. Han Kyung-hee, CEO of home appliances firm HAANThe electronics firm, which had grown rapidly on the back of the popularity of its home appliances for years, was inundated with 30.9 billion won (US$26.94 million) of debt last year, which surpassed 10.7 billion won of the company’s to

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electro-Mechanics ’ earnings will likely miss market expectations due to temporary costs caused mainly by a series of business restructuring and layoffs in recent months, according to a market report on July 12. Hana Financial Investment said in its recent report that the electronic components company is expected to post 17.8 billion won ($15.50 million) in operating profit and 1.56 trillion won in sales in the second quarter, down from 42.9 billion won and 1.6 trillion wo

[THE INVESTOR] US tech firm Oculus has filed an application to receive a mandatory radio wave certification for its virtual reality headset in South Korea, an apparent move to release the VR device here soon. Oculus, owned by Facebook, excluded South Korea from the list of the global markets where its VR device went on sale in January. Oculus’ virtual reality headsetThe Gear VR, developed together by Samsung Electronics and Oculus, has been ruling the domestic market so far.The US VR firm has al

[THE INVESTOR] LG Display’s initiative to grow the organic light-emitting diode display market is gaining steam as more television manufacturers are joining the fray for the high-end TVs featuring self-illuminating OLED panels.Companies like Skyworths, Changhong, Konga, Hisense, Vestel, Panasonic, and LG Electronics are reportedly global TV companies that employ LGD’s OLED panels. More will jump on the bandwagon, according to the Seoul-headquartered display firm.LG Display’s OLED display“The com

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics saw its NAND flash memory sales hit an all-time high in the January-March period, according to a market report.The Korean company earned US$2.62 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up 3.1 percent from the fourth quarter last year, according to a recent report released by IHS, a market research firm. Samsung Electronics’ 3-D NAND flash memory chip.  Samsung ElectronicsIts market share in the global NAND flash memory sector came in at 42.6 percent

[THE INVESTOR] Cable TV network operator CJ HelloVision and IPTV firm SK Broadband submitted follow-up reports to the antitrust watchdog after its recent rejection of their merger and acquisition deal.The two companies refused to provide any details of the report, but they are said to have claimed the feasibility of the planned M&A deal.The Fair Trade Commission had opposed the proposed M&A plan on the grounds that the combined business entity will become a dominant player in the pay TV market a

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group has picked 12 university research projects in the three categories of artificial intelligence, fast charging battery cell, and exterior materials for IT devices -- as a part of its future technology support program. Among them, six involve developing the latest AI and deep learning technologies, while three are focused on battery technology. The rest will be studying exterior materials for IT devices. Samsung Group’s headquarters in