Alibaba unveils ‘pragmatic’ AI road map to drive monetisation, infrastructure efficiency

South China Morning Post - Sep 24, 2026

The artificial intelligence road map presented at its flagship Apsara Conference this week showcased a pragmatic pivot by Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding, offering a clearer path to monetisation despite a sharp escalation in capital expenditure, analysts said. The conference, which ran from Tuesday to Thursday under the theme “Intelligence goes beyond”, highlighted “Alibaba’s disciplined execution across its full-stack AI ecosystem”, said Cathy Chan, an analyst at CCB International. She...

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Watchdog chief calls for fairness, transparency in CEO selection process

Sep 23, 2026

Watchdog chief calls for fairness, transparency in CEO selection process

The chief of the country's financial watchdog said Wednesday that bank holding companies need to draw up measures to boost fairness and transparency in selecting chief executives of their affiliates. In a meeting with the heads of eight holding companies of banks, Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), urged them to redouble their efforts to select chief executives of their affiliates in a fair and transparent manner. The watchdog has been racing to map out measures to boost the governance structure of financial holding companies that center around fair and transparent selections of chief executives of banks. Lee also stressed that banks need to enhance their internal control schemes as financial accidents have been on the steady rise. According to the FSS, a total of 171 billion won ($126 million) worth of financial accidents were reported in the banking sector in the first seven months of the year, sharply up from 69.6 billion won in 2023.

SK Enmove, LG Electronics team up for immersion cooling technology

Sep 23, 2026

SK Enmove, LG Electronics team up for immersion cooling technology

SK Enmove, a lubricant unit of SK On, and LG Electronics have teamed up to develop next-generation refrigerants, lubricants and immersion cooling technologies for applications across various industries. SK Enmove CEO Kim Wone-kee and LG Electronics Eco Solution Division President Lee Jae-sung signed a memorandum of understanding a day earlier to jointly develop new refrigerants, refrigeration lubricants and immersion cooling technologies for home appliances, commercial and industrial applications. Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly develop next-generation refrigerants in response to tightening global environmental regulations. The refrigerants will be designed to meet international environmental regulations and refrigerant standards, with a global warming potential below 150 and no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. SK Enmove will develop refrigerant candidates, while LG Electronics will assess their commercial applicability using its experience with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products and systems in global markets. The two companies will also con

Korea Zinc's Project Crucible fills critical gap in US minerals supply chain

Sep 23, 2026

Korea Zinc's Project Crucible fills critical gap in US minerals supply chain

Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-birm was a relatively small player among the Korean business leaders who gathered in Washington last year for a presidential summit, which included much larger groups such as Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor Group. But Choi brought something increasingly relevant to Washington: critical minerals. Rather than focusing primarily on investment or manufacturing, Korea Zinc highlighted its decades of experience in refining a wide range of non-ferrous metals and recovering multiple critical minerals from raw materials and smelting byproducts — a capability that addresses a key weakness in the U.S. critical minerals supply chain: limited domestic processing capacity. Four months later, Korea Zinc unveiled Project Crucible, a proposed $7.4 billion integrated smelter and critical minerals processing facility in Tennessee, backed by the U.S. government and private investors. The facility is designed to produce 12 types of nonferrous metals, including 11 designated as critical minerals by the U.S. government, as well as semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid. Production is sc

Korean brands leverage offline stores to capture Vietnam's e-commerce boom

Sep 23, 2026

Korean brands leverage offline stores to capture Vietnam's e-commerce boom

As e-commerce rapidly transforms retail across Southeast Asia, Korean brands are using hands-on offline experiences in Vietnam to drive digital sales. Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) hosted its 2026 Korea Festival at Parc Mall in Ho Chi Minh City from Sept. 16-22, bringing 80 Korean companies together for product sales, market testing and cultural experiences. The event featured Korean beauty products, food and household goods, along with tastings linked to KOTRA’s Seoul Food exhibition, live commerce, Chuseok cultural activities and K-pop performances. Among participating companies were 48 domestic firms with limited overseas experience and 10 companies new to exporting, KOTRA said, with local vendors helping them test products and gauge Vietnamese consumers’ responses. KOTRA said it will follow the in-person event with an online promotion on Shopee Vietnam from Oct. 3-5, extending the campaign from mall counters to one of Southeast Asia’s major e-commerce platforms. The online campaign will feature 87 companies, including domestic firms, first-time exporters and co

Naver's metaverse affiliate stages walkout, 2nd collective action this year

Sep 23, 2026

Naver's metaverse affiliate stages walkout, 2nd collective action this year

Unionized workers at Naver Z Corp., the metaverse affiliate of Korea's Naver Corp., staged a walkout on Wednesday, its second collective action this year against the company's decision to freeze wages. Some 70 percent of the union's members, or around 120 people, picketed in front of its parent company's headquarters in Seongnam, south of Seoul, the portal operator's affiliate-wide labor union said. "Across Naver and its affiliates, a rate freeze happened only once in 2009, following the global financial crisis. Even during that time, the company shifted the financial burden onto its employees by increasing the wages of its executives by 71 percent," the union argued during a live broadcast of the walkout. The latest collective action is the second of its kind from Naver Z, after it staged a partial, 4-hour strike early this month. It also marks the second industrial action from Korea's portal service industry after unionized members of Kakao Corp., a messenger app operator, staged multiple walkouts in June.

European business chambers seek stronger investment ties with Korea

Sep 23, 2026

European business chambers seek stronger investment ties with Korea

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) and the French-Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) on Tuesday jointly hosted a forum with Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook in Seoul to discuss foreign investment conditions and regulatory challenges in Korea facing European companies. About 200 executives from German, French and other European companies, along with government, diplomatic and economic officials, took part in the event at Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul, the KGCCI said Wednesday. It was organized to strengthen direct communication between the Korean government and European businesses. In her keynote speech, Han described Korea, Germany, France and other European Union members as trusted partners built on long-standing ties and shared support for free trade, openness, innovation and a rules-based international order. “The government will do its utmost to cooperate so that investments and business ventures by German and French companies can generate greater results in Korea,” Han said. Han highlighted the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Busine

HS Hyosung Advanced Materials targets aerospace, drone markets with carbon fiber

Sep 23, 2026

HS Hyosung Advanced Materials targets aerospace, drone markets with carbon fiber

HS Hyosung Advanced Materials is showcasing carbon fiber products for aerospace, defense and drone applications at CAMX 2026 in the United States, as the company seeks to expand into advanced industries. The three-day Composites and Advanced Materials Expo runs from Tuesday to Thursday (local time) in Atlanta. More than 500 companies are participating, with about 7,000 visitors expected to attend. HS Hyosung Advanced Materials has participated in the annual exhibition since it was launched in 2014. The company is displaying 3K carbon fiber, 3K woven fabrics and composites for drones, as well as high-pressure vessels used in satellites. “CAMX 2026 is an important opportunity to share the latest technologies and market trends with major companies and customers in the global composites industry and explore new business opportunities,” HS Hyosung Advanced Materials CEO Lim Jin-dal said. “Based on our high-performance carbon fiber technologies and stable supply capabilities, we will provide differentiated carbon fiber solutions for advanced industries, including aerospace.” Carbon fibe

China's 'mala' sauce breaks Korea's culinary boundaries

Sep 23, 2026

China's 'mala' sauce breaks Korea's culinary boundaries

"Mala" is enchanting Korean palates across the domestic food industry. The tongue-numbingly spicy seasoning that is a traditional favorite in China's Sichuan province has become a popular ingredient for dishes beyond just Chinese cuisine, spreading to Korean and Western dishes in both the dine-in and takeout scenes. Since its introduction to Korea in the early 2010s, the popularity of mala among Korean consumers began to grow more widespread in 2018, and has been on a consistent rise since. At Google Trends, online searches for “malatang" (mala-based hot pot) this month jumped 350 percent from 2022, while "mala rosé" (mala and creamy tomato sauce) jumped 250 percent during the same period. Korean's frenzy over mala has been evident in the country's dine-in landscape as well. Tanghuo Kungfu, the largest Korean malatang franchise, posted sales of 25.5 billion won ($19 million) last year, nearly tripling from 2022. Chunli Malatang enjoyed a sales increase of 134 percent from 2023, while Lahongbang saw a 32 percent rise from the previous year. This year, McDonald’s Korea, Binggrae, Otok

Citibank Korea names corporate banking expert as next CEO

Sep 23, 2026

Citibank Korea names corporate banking expert as next CEO

Citibank Korea has tapped Kim Kyoung-ho, its head of corporate banking, as its next CEO, marking the lender’s first leadership change in six years, the bank said Wednesday. The bank’s executive recommendation committee named Kim as the sole finalist at a meeting, Tuesday. If approved by the board and shareholders, he will succeed Yoo Myung-soon, who has led Citi since 2020 as its first female CEO. Her term expires Oct. 27. The committee described Kim as “a corporate banking expert with extensive experience serving large corporations and financial institutions,” citing his track record, deep knowledge of client relationships and the Korean market, as well as his understanding of risk management and internal controls. Kim joined Citibank Korea in 2001 and has held a series of senior roles in corporate banking, including large corporate banking and financial institutions coverage, before being promoted to an executive vice president in 2021. His appointment comes as Citi continues to reshape its Korean business following its exit from consumer banking. With corporate clients now at

Bank CEOs on edge over year-end reappointment as governance scrutiny grows

Sep 23, 2026

Bank CEOs on edge over year-end reappointment as governance scrutiny grows

With the terms of 54 top executives at major financial holding companies’ affiliates set to expire at the end of the year, including the CEOs of all five major commercial banks, the government is stepping up pressure on financial groups to make their leadership succession more transparent and address any procedural shortcomings, according to industry officials Wednesday. Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Chan-jin made the call at a meeting with the chairmen of eight financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH NongHyup, iM, BNK and JB — at his agency's headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. CEO appointments at their subsidiaries, Lee said, should be “a transparent and fair process for identifying the right candidates based on their capabilities, without being swayed by particular factions or personal relationships.” Holding companies that still lack what the FSS considers basic safeguards, including clearly defined qualifications for the top job and a minimum period for assessing candidates at each stage, should address those gaps before launching their appointment pr

Korea's first US investment hinges on long-term power buyers

Sep 23, 2026

Korea's first US investment hinges on long-term power buyers

As Korea confirmed a natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Encinal, Texas, will be the first project under its $200 billion strategic investment commitment to the United States, power purchase agreements (PPAs) with potential power buyers are emerging as a key factor in determining the project’s commercial viability. In a National Assembly briefing on Tuesday, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the project will be worth $22.3 billion, with planned generating capacity reaching 6.3 gigawatts. The project will initially build a 1.4-gigawatt gas turbine power plant to assess actual demand and economic viability, before gradually expanding it with 4.9 gigawatts of more efficient combined-cycle generation capacity. The project will be funded entirely by Korea, while ownership will be split equally between Seoul and Washington. Electricity generated from the plant is expected to power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the region. In selecting the gas plant as the first project, the government considered “commercial reasonableness,” stipulated as a key condition in

PPAs emerge as key viability factor in Korea's 1st US investment project

Sep 23, 2026

PPAs emerge as key viability factor in Korea's 1st US investment project

As Korea confirmed a natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Encinal, Texas, will be the first project under its $200 billion strategic investment commitment to the United States, power purchase agreements (PPAs) with potential power buyers are emerging as a key factor in determining the project’s commercial viability. In a National Assembly briefing on Tuesday, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the project will be worth $22.3 billion, with planned generating capacity reaching 6.3 gigawatts. The project will initially build a 1.4-gigawatt gas turbine power plant to assess actual demand and economic viability, before gradually expanding it with 4.9 gigawatts of more efficient combined-cycle generation capacity. The project will be funded entirely by Korea, while ownership will be split equally between Seoul and Washington. Electricity generated from the plant is expected to power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the region. In selecting the gas plant as the first project, the government considered “commercial reasonableness,” stipulated as a key condition in

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