Nitori Opens 13th Thailand Store at Bangkok’s Emsphere, Plans Further Expansion Furniture and home interior company Nitori Holdings opened its 13th store in Thailand on April 24 at Emsphere, a commercial complex in Bangkok. The company said it plans to add at least one more store within the year. Over the medium term, it aims to build an 80-store network by 2032 and to raise its pace of openings to 10 stores a year. The new store is on the second floor of Emsphere and covers 600 square meters. It carries about 3,500 items, mainly household goods, and has the highest April 27, 2026

Hanwha-Daewoo Consortium Wins Contractor Role for Sindebang Station Redevelopment in Seoul Hanwha’s construction division and Daewoo Engineering & Construction said on the 27th that their consortium has secured the construction contract for the Sindebang Station area redevelopment project in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. The project’s residents’ representative council held a general meeting of members on the 25th and confirmed the Hanwha-Daewoo consortium as the builder. It is the first redevelopment project Hanwha’s construction division has won this year. The site is in Sindebang-d April 27, 2026

Aigis Asset Management to Appoint Cho Gap-ju as CEO Aigis Asset Management said it will appoint Cho Gap-ju, head of its new business initiative unit, as its new CEO. The company said on the 27th it plans to name Cho CEO at a board meeting scheduled for the 28th. Aigis said the appointment is intended to ensure continuity in managing client assets as changes in corporate governance proceed, while having an experienced executive directly review key issues and strengthen communication with stakeholders. Cho joined the firm in its early da April 27, 2026

BOJ Seen Holding Rates as Yen Nears 160 per Dollar; Focus on Ueda’s Guidance Japan’s central bank is widely expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at a meeting on the 28th, shifting market attention to what Gov. Kazuo Ueda says as the yen nears 160 per dollar. Investors are focused on how clearly the Bank of Japan signals willingness to raise rates again after holding steady. Bloomberg News reported on the 27th that markets expect the BOJ to maintain the policy rate at 0.75%. Until a few weeks ago, many investors had expected another increase as part of the ba April 27, 2026

Hanmi Semiconductor shares jump after Chairman Kwak buys company stock Hanmi Semiconductor shares surged after news that its largest shareholder bought more company stock. According to the Korea Exchange, as of 2:45 p.m. on the 27th, Hanmi Semiconductor was trading at 374,500 won, up 26.73% from the previous session. The stock hit an intraday high of 379,500 won, a record. In a regulatory filing, the company said Chairman Kwak Dong-shin acquired 9,576 shares through open-market purchases. The purchase totaled about 3 billion won, at an average pri April 27, 2026

Hanwha Ocean posts 441.1 billion won Q1 operating profit, up 78% from prior quarter Hanwha Ocean extended its earnings rebound on a high-margin business mix led by LNG carriers. The company said Sunday that on a consolidated basis it posted first-quarter 2026 revenue of 3.2099 trillion won and operating profit of 441.1 billion won. Revenue fell 3% from the previous quarter and 2% from a year earlier. Operating profit rose 78% from the prior quarter and 71% from a year earlier. Revenue edged down as fewer operating days weighed on output, but the commercial ship division April 27, 2026

AI Boom Splits Asian Stocks: Korea, Taiwan and Japan Rise as India, Southeast Asia Fall Asian stock markets are diverging depending on who benefits from the artificial intelligence boom. Despite an energy shock triggered by the Iran war, Northeast Asian markets have rebounded on strong tech shares, while South and Southeast Asia remain weighed down by higher oil prices. Bloomberg reported on April 27 that Taiwan’s TAIEX rose 9.9% from the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 through April 24. Over the same period, South Korea’s KOSPI gained 3.7%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.5%, a April 27, 2026

CJ Logistics Launches Campaign to Cut Shipping Costs, Promote Small Food Sellers CJ Logistics said Monday it is launching “Hamkke Sane, Gachi One,” a project to identify promising small and midsize food companies and support them with logistics subsidies and promotion. The campaign targets small merchants with strong products and fresh ideas who still struggle to expand sales channels because of shipping and marketing costs. Any food seller that ships and sells products by parcel delivery can apply through the campaign’s official website from Monday through May 25. C April 27, 2026

South Korea to Ease Loan Caps for Mid-Rate Lending; Card Issuers to Offer Saitdol Loans Financial authorities said they will ease household-loan volume caps to expand access to credit for mid-tier borrowers, excluding up to 80% of private-sector mid-rate loans from the overall lending limits. They also plan to allow credit card companies to offer Saitdol loans, aiming to increase mid-rate lending and encourage funding at lower interest rates. The Financial Services Commission announced the measures on 27 at a meeting titled the fourth Inclusive Finance Transformation Confere April 27, 2026

Vietnam Warns of Fake Traffic-Fine Sites Stealing Bank Card Data A new scam in Vietnam is using small traffic fines as bait to steal bank card information, authorities and local media reported. The scheme typically cites a fine of 50,000 dong (about 2,800 won), encouraging victims to enter card details without suspicion. Reports say even residents of major cities have been deceived. VnExpress reported that a Hanoi resident, Ngoc Ha, received a text message on April 25 saying her vehicle had committed a traffic violation and instructing her to immediate April 27, 2026