Samsung's Lee Jae-yong heads to Winter Olympics for global business meetings SEOUL, February 05 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has traveled to Italy to attend the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, where he is expected to combine Olympic engagements with meetings aimed at strengthening global business ties. Lee departed for Milan on Thursday, marking his first visit to an Olympic Games since attending the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024. Lee is expected to attend the opening ceremony and hold meetings with political and business leaders on the sidelines of the Games. He is also likely to explore cooperation opportunities with partners connected to Samsung’s European operations, including mobile devices, automotive electronics and semiconductors. Samsung Electronics has been an Olympic sponsor since serving as a local partner for the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. The company signed a global TOP (The Olympic Partner) sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee in 1997 and has extended the partnership through 2028. Lee’s trip continues a recent pattern of using major international events for business diplomacy. In 2024, he visited the Paris Olympics — his first Olympic appearance in 12 years — where he held meetings with global industry leaders, including former ASML chief executive Peter Wennink, and attended a business leaders’ luncheon hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. Samsung said it will work with the IOC and Olympic Broadcasting Services to film parts of the opening ceremony using its Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone and broadcast the footage live to global audiences. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-02-05 13:47:58

SK hynix posts record 2025 profit, topping Samsung Electronics for first time Riding a boom in AI semiconductors, SK hynix posted record annual revenue and operating profit last year, and its operating profit topped Samsung Electronics’ annual operating profit for the first time. SK hynix said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it posted 97.1467 trillion won ($97,146.7 billion) in revenue and 47.2063 trillion won ($47,206.3 billion) in operating profit. Net profit was 42.9479 trillion won ($42,947.9 billion). Revenue rose 46.7% from a year earlier and operating profit jumped 101.1%. The results surpassed the company’s previous record set in 2024. Revenue increased by more than 30 trillion won, and operating profit roughly doubled, setting a new annual high. SK hynix’s operating profit also exceeded Samsung Electronics’ companywide operating profit of 43.53 trillion won ($43,530.0 billion) over the same period. SK hynix’s operating margin was 49%. Momentum was especially strong in the fourth quarter, as demand rose not only for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, but also for general-purpose server memory. SK hynix said it posted record quarterly figures, with revenue up 34% from the previous quarter to 32.8267 trillion won ($32,826.7 billion) and operating profit up 68% to 19.1696 trillion won ($19,169.6 billion). The operating margin was 58%. The company said the AI market is shifting from training to inference, expanding demand for distributed architectures and increasing the importance of memory. It expects demand to keep growing across memory products, including high-performance memory such as HBM, as well as server DRAM and NAND. SK hynix said it is the only company in the industry able to supply both HBM3E and HBM4 stably, and it will strengthen its technology lead along with verified quality and mass-production capabilities. It said HBM4, for which it built a mass-production system in September, is now being produced to meet customer-requested volumes. The company also said it is preparing to supply optimized products in custom HBM, which it described as an emerging next-generation competitive factor. Backed by its record results, SK hynix said it will carry out shareholder returns totaling 2.1 trillion won ($2,100.0 billion). It decided on an additional dividend of 1,500 won ($1.50) per share, totaling 1 trillion won ($1,000.0 billion). Including existing quarterly dividends, it set the year-end dividend at 1,875 won ($1.88) per share. Total dividends for 2025 will be 3,000 won ($3.00) per share, for an overall payout of about 2.1 trillion won ($2,100.0 billion). The company also said it will cancel all of its treasury shares totaling about 15.3 million shares, equivalent to a 2.1% stake, to boost shareholder value. Based on the previous day’s closing price, the shares are worth about 12.2 trillion won ($12,200.0 billion). Song Hyun-jong, president of SK hynix, said the company will pursue sustainable earnings growth based on differentiated technology while maintaining an optimal balance among future investment, financial stability and shareholder returns. He said SK hynix will strengthen its role as a core infrastructure partner in the AI era by helping customers meet AI performance requirements, beyond simply supplying products. 2026-01-28 17:12:00

SK hynix to Return 2.1 Trillion Won to Shareholders Through Dividends SK hynix said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it will carry out a large-scale shareholder return program totaling 2.1 trillion won, citing financial capacity secured through record results. The company decided on an additional dividend of 1 trillion won, or 1,500 won per share. Including its existing quarterly dividend, it set the year-end dividend at 1,875 won per share. Total dividends for 2025 will be 3,000 won per share, bringing the overall payout to about 2.1 trillion won. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:51:00

SK hynix to cancel 12.24 trillion won in treasury shares to boost shareholder value SK hynix said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it has decided to cancel 12.24 trillion won ($12.24 trillion) worth of its own shares. The company will cancel 15.3 million common shares on Feb. 9. The par value is 5,000 won per share. SK hynix said the cancellation will be carried out under the proviso to Article 343(1) of the Commercial Act, using treasury shares previously acquired within the limit of distributable profits and canceled by a board resolution. It said the total number of shares outstanding will fall, but paid-in capital will not. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:42:26

SK hynix to Cancel 12.24 Trillion Won in Treasury Shares * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:27:26

LS Cable & System secures Malaysia subsea power cable contract SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - South Korea's LS Cable & System has won a turnkey contract worth about 60 billion won ($41 million) from Malaysia’s national utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), to build a subsea power transmission network. The project involves expanding a 132-kilovolt subsea power link between Malaysia’s mainland and Langkawi Island, a major tourist destination, to enhance the stability of electricity supply, the company said on Tuesday. LS Cable & System secured the contract after beating multiple global competitors, winning the second phase of the Langkawi subsea cable project following the successful completion of the first phase. The company attributed the achievement to trust built through the earlier project and its overall competitiveness in turnkey execution. Countries in Southeast Asia are advancing large-scale subsea grid projects as part of the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) initiative, which aims to interconnect national power systems across the region. Industry estimates cited by the company project the global subsea cable market will grow to about 34 trillion won by 2030, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for roughly 20 trillion won of that total. LS Cable & System said it plans to leverage the Malaysia project to strengthen its overseas track record. “Based on our proven turnkey capabilities, we aim to successfully deliver backbone grid projects at home and abroad and strengthen our leadership in the subsea cable market,” the company said in a press release. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-27 10:00:36

Korea's two largest chipmakers to report earnings and HBM plans on same day this week SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the world's two largest memory makers based in South Korea, are set to report record earnings on the same day - Thursday - this week in full display of the strength of the current semiconductor upcycle. Instead of numbers, the market would be watching what the leading chipmakers would reveal about their high-bandwidth memory (HBM) strategies and capacity plans during conference calls. It will be the first time the two companies announce earnings on the same day. Industry watchers suspect SK hynix, which has traditionally reported after Samsung, adjusted its schedule to limit advance disclosure of sensitive information, including HBM supply plans. Samsung on Jan. 8 released preliminary fourth-quarter results showing revenue of 93 trillion won and operating profit of 20 trillion won, both quarterly records. The figures marked year-on-year increases of 22.7 percent and 208.2 percent, respectively. The strong performance was driven by Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) division, centered on memory chips. Securities analysts estimate DS operating profit exceeded 16 trillion won, with the memory business alone generating more than 17 trillion won in operating profit. In contrast, Samsung’s Device eXperience (DX) division, which includes consumer electronics, underperformed amid sluggish demand and cost pressures linked to memory chips. Operating profit at the Mobile eXperience (MX) unit is estimated to have fallen to around 1.5 trillion won, down from 3.6 trillion won in the previous quarter. SK hynix is also expected to renew quarterly record, just one quarter after joining the “10 trillion won club” for the first time in its history. According to financial data firm FnGuide, SK hynix’s fourth-quarter consensus forecast calls for revenue of 30.519 trillion won and operating profit of 16.062 trillion won, up 54.39 percent and 98.72 percent from a year earlier. The estimate would mark its first quarter surpassing 30 trillion won in revenue, with some brokerages expecting operating profit to exceed current projections. Consensus estimates for full-year operating profit in 2025 stand at 43.53 trillion won for Samsung and 44.4 trillion won for SK hynix. As semiconductors enter what the market describes as a “super cycle,” some analysts project the two companies’ combined operating profit could reach 200 trillion won this year, with Samsung alone estimated to post 120 trillion won. Investors are closely watching commentary on next-generation HBM, including supply plans for HBM4 and mass production timelines for HBM4E, a seventh-generation product. SK hynix will begin its conference call at 9 a.m., followed by Samsung at 10 a.m. During third-quarter earnings calls in October, both companies said all HBM production capacity for 2026 had already been sold out. Competition is expected to intensify this year after Samsung — previously seen as trailing SK hynix in HBM — confirmed shipments of its 12-layer HBM3E products to Nvidia. “Their HBM guidance will offer important clues about the future direction of their semiconductor strategies,” a semiconductor industry official said. 2026-01-26 07:19:18

AI storage demand lifts South Korea's FADU with record contracts SEOUL, January 22 (AJP) - Data center semiconductor firm FADU said on Thursday it has secured a 47 billion won ($35 million) order for finished solid-state drive (SSD) products from Taiwan-based Macnica Galaxy, marking the largest single contract in the company’s history. In a regulatory filing, FADU said the deal revises a previously disclosed 21.5 billion won contract announced on Nov. 5, reflecting a larger supply volume and higher SSD prices. The company said the order exceeds its total annual revenue of 43.5 billion won and underscores rising demand for its data center storage products. Under the contract terms, half of the contract value will be paid in March, with the remaining amount expected to be recognized as revenue in the second half of this year. Earlier this month, FADU disclosed it had signed a separate 20.3 billion won supply contract for enterprise SSD controllers with an overseas NAND flash memory manufacturer, also its largest single controller supply deal to date. Together, the two contracts total 67.3 billion won, close to FADU’s cumulative revenue of 68.5 billion won recorded through the third quarter of last year. The company said it expects to return to profitability from the first quarter, supported by a growing pipeline of large orders. FADU added that it secured five contracts worth 10 billion won or more in the second half of last year. Chief Executive Lee Ji-hyo said performance bottlenecks in artificial intelligence data centers are increasingly concentrated in storage and SSDs. “Our technology and customer trust are starting to deliver results,” Lee said. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-22 09:47:11

Xiaomi targets budget segment with Poco M8 5G launch in Korea SEOUL, January 19 (AJP) - Xiaomi Korea said on Monday it will release the POCO-brand smartphone Poco M8 5G in South Korea on Jan. 26, with a list price of 339,900 won ($250). Preorders will run through Jan. 25 via Xiaomi’s official online store, Mi.com, as well as major online retail platforms, the company said. The Poco M8 5G is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 Mobile Platform, according to Xiaomi. The device supports artificial intelligence features including Google Gemini and Circle to Search. It features a 50-megapixel main camera and a 20-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone supports 45-watt fast charging, memory expansion of up to 16 gigabytes of RAM, and up to 1 terabyte of external storage. Xiaomi said the handset adopts a durability-focused design that passed comprehensive shock and drop tests conducted by testing firm SGS. It also carries an IP66 rating for water and dust resistance. The Poco M8 5G measures 7.35 millimeters in thickness, weighs 178 grams and is equipped with a 5,520 milliampere-hour battery. It will be sold in a single configuration with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. Xiaomi said first-time buyers between Jan. 26 and Feb. 8 will receive a Xiaomi 22.5-watt, 10,000mAh power bank, along with a two-month YouTube Premium subscription and additional promotional benefits. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-19 15:20:57

Samsung hires former Microsoft executive to bolster EU policy response SEOUL, January 19 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has hired Jeremy Rollison, a U.S.-born European Union digital policy specialist who previously worked at Microsoft, as an executive director-level official, in a move widely seen as aimed at strengthening the company’s response to tightening EU digital regulation. Rollison, 46, has begun work with Samsung’s Europe external relations team in Brussels, the hub of EU policymaking. He spent more than a decade at Microsoft handling EU government and policy affairs. Samsung is expected to draw on his experience in artificial intelligence and cloud policy, as well as cybersecurity, along with his network in Brussels, as it navigates an increasingly complex EU regulatory environment. Rollison graduated from the University of Richmond in Virginia and earned a master’s degree in European studies from Sciences Po in France. After starting his career at Nokia, he joined Microsoft in 2014, where he worked on EU external relations and most recently served as head of the company’s EU policy team for European external relations. The European Union is a key market for Samsung, accounting for about 17 percent of its annual global revenue, or roughly 50.1 trillion won. However, concerns have been growing as the bloc rolls out stricter regulations and protectionist measures. One of the most significant rules is the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which designates certain large companies as “gatekeepers” and subjects them to special obligations to curb abuses of market power. Samsung narrowly avoided being designated as a gatekeeper in 2023. Seven companies are currently classified as gatekeepers under the act: Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, along with China’s ByteDance and the Netherlands-based Booking.com. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-19 10:01:21