Samsung Electronics says Q1 chip profit hit 53.7 trillion won; HBM sales to triple in 2026 Samsung Electronics said its semiconductor business generated about 54 trillion won in operating profit in the first quarter, far exceeding the company’s total operating profit for all of last year. In its final earnings release on Wednesday, Samsung said its Device Solutions (DS) division posted revenue of 81.7 trillion won and operating profit of 53.7 trillion won. Results surged as the spread of artificial intelligence boosted demand for high-value memory chips and prices rose. Reven April 30, 2026

South Korea Tax Agency: Apply for Work, Child Tax Credits by June 1; Up to 3.3 Million Won The National Tax Service said Wednesday it will accept regular applications for 2025 earned income and child tax credits from May 1 through June 1 to support the living stability of low-income households. The agency said 3.24 million households with wage, business or clergy income in 2025 are eligible. It will send guidance in stages via mobile notifications (including government digital assistant alerts, KakaoTalk, Naver and text messages) and by mail. Payments will be made on Aug. 27 aft April 30, 2026

Korea’s Regular-Nonregular Pay Gap Widens as Short-Hour, Older Workers Rise Nonregular workers’ total wage growth lagged that of regular workers last year, widening the pay gap between the two groups, government data showed. The ministry attributed the trend largely to an increase in nonregular workers in lower-paid, shorter-hour jobs. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s “June 2025 Survey on Working Conditions by Employment Type,” the total hourly wage for wage workers stood at 25,839 won as of June last year, up 2.7% from a year earlier. Regular April 30, 2026

Samsung Electronics Posts Record Q1 Operating Profit as Chip Boom Outpaces Devices Samsung Electronics said it posted its best-ever quarterly results in the first quarter of 2026, driven overwhelmingly by semiconductors, underscoring a widening gap between its chip business and its device operations. The company said Thursday that on a consolidated basis it recorded revenue of 133.9 trillion won and operating profit of 57.2 trillion won. Revenue rose 43% from the previous quarter and operating profit jumped 185%, setting a record for a single quarter. The Device Soluti April 30, 2026

Thailand’s PTT Oil and Retail Launches Self-Service Fueling With App Discounts Thailand’s PTT Oil and Retail (PTTOR), the retail arm of state-owned oil company PTT, said it has begun offering self-service fueling, combining the rollout with digital technology and discounts. Customers use an app to operate the service, which the company said is intended to cut wait times and improve the efficiency of fueling-bay operations. The discount for self-service is 0.40 baht per liter (about 1.98 yen), with no minimum purchase required. PTTOR said the self-service option has April 30, 2026

Philippine Airlines Limits Carry-On Power Banks to Two Per Passenger Philippine Airlines (PAL) said on the 17th that it is limiting carry-on power banks to two per passenger, in line with the latest guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The airline said power banks are prohibited in checked baggage and may not be stored in overhead bins. Passengers must keep them on their person or place them in the seat pocket or under the seat in front of them. PAL set a maximum capacity of 100 watt-hours (Wh) and said the capacit April 30, 2026

Mitsuuroko Unit Opens New Lock+Store Facility in Kuala Lumpur Mitsuuroko Group Holdings of Japan said on the 20th that its consolidated subsidiary LOCK and STORE Glenmarie (LSGM), which operates a rental storage business in Malaysia, has opened a new facility in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. It is the brand’s fourth site in the country. The new facility, Lock+Store Ampang, has about 6,000 square feet (about 557 square meters) of net leasable area. The company said it will offer air-conditioned storage units to meet rising demand in the surrounding area. LS April 30, 2026

Cambodia’s Royal Group Partners With Singapore’s Greenlyzer on Green Hydrogen in Southeast Asia Singapore deep-tech company Greenlyzer and Cambodia conglomerate Royal Group have formed a partnership to introduce and expand green hydrogen energy solutions in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia. The two sides recently signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on wider adoption of green hydrogen energy. In an April 17 announcement, Greenlyzer said the signing ceremony was attended by Bo Bai, chairman of Alpha Ladder Group, Greenlyzer’s parent company, and Kith Meng, chairman and April 30, 2026

Adani Enterprises sets up three airport-city units for hotels and real estate Adani Enterprises, a core company of India’s Adani Group, said on April 18 that its wholly owned unit Adani Airport City has set up three subsidiaries to handle hotel and real estate development. Effective April 6, it established Adani Navi Mumbai Airport City, Adani Guwahati Airport City and Adani Ahmedabad Airport City. Each has paid-in capital of 1 million rupees (about 1.7 million yen). The companies plan to pursue real estate business using owned or leased properties, real estate con April 30, 2026

Indonesia’s Megawati urges revival of Bandung Conference amid global tensions Indonesia’s former President Megawati Sukarnoputri on the 18th called for the Asia-Africa Conference, known as the Bandung Conference, to be convened again so countries can renew solidarity, marking the 71st anniversary of the meeting that helped lay the foundations of the Non-Aligned Movement. Referring to U.S. attacks on Venezuela and Iran, she said “the international order is being shaken.” She said rising geopolitical tensions are “a wake-up call to the world,” and argued that countri April 30, 2026