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Police stand guard in front of the main gate of the National Assembly in Seoul on December 3, 2024, after South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law. South Korea President Yoon on December 3 declared emergency martial law, saying the step was necessary to protect the country from "communist forces" amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, which tracks more than 90 large and mid-sized companies in South Korea, tumbled 6% to hit a 52-week low. South Korean stocks dropped in the U.S. on Tuesday after President Yoon Suk Yeol invoked emergency powers and declared martial law, raising fear of instability in the world's 13th largest economy. This is the first time since 1980 a South Korean leader has issued a martial law declaration.

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Yoon Suk, — Organizations: National Assembly, South, Korea ETF, Korea Electric, KT Corporation, Korea Telecom, Korea Exchange, U.S, South Korean Locations: Seoul, Korea, South Korea, U.S, Korean, South Korean, North Korea

☆ HSBC names 3 'underappreciated' Asian stocks to watch in 2025 — giving one 63% upside potential
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | In Amala-Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Meituan HSBC is bullish on Meituan and has a target price of 220 Hong Kong dollars ($28.30) on the stock, giving it 25.8% upside potential. "Despite the macro challenges, Meituan's growth profile remains resilient," said Charlene Liu, HSBC Global Research's head of internet and gaming research for Asia-Pacific. Calling it a "best-in-class small-cap" idea, HSBC Global Research's India health-care analyst Damayanti Kerai believes it is "well positioned to sustain healthy growth." Kia's shares have been on an uptrend, gaining around 8% in the last five days. HSBC has a target price of 160,000 Korean Won ($114.80) on the stock, implying nearly 63.1% upside potential.

Persons: Charlene Liu, Liu, Damayanti Kerai, Kerai, Will Cho, Cho, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: HSBC, Hong, HSBC Global Research's, Morningstar, Hong Kong Exchange, Krishna, Medical Sciences, Bombay Stock Exchanges, Kia, Korea Exchange, Won Locations: Asia, Hong Kong, U.S, HSBC Global Research's India, Korean, HSBC Global Research's Korea, EU

☆ UAE and South Korea complete talks for bilateral trade deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Rachna Uppal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Trade and investment ties between the Gulf state and South Korea have been steadily advancing; in the first half of 2023, bilateral non-oil trade reached $3 billion, similar to the same period last year, but up 21% over 2021, a statement said. South Korea was one of the first countries with which the Gulf state launched talks for a CEPA in 2021. Three months later however, the Asian state revived dormant Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council bloc, of which the UAE is a member. "We resumed talks with Korea earlier this year as we were both keen to conclude a deal and advance our respective economic agendas," Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE minister of foreign trade, told Reuters, adding the GCC FTA talks remained ongoing. It has said it does not mix politics with trade, when asked whether the Israel-Gaza conflict would have an impact on the Gulf state's trade deal with Israel.

Persons: Yeo Han, koo, Zeyoudi, Rachna Uppal, Sharon Singleton Organizations: South Korean Trade, United Arab Emirates Minister, State for Foreign Trade, United Arab, . Trade, Korea Electric Power Corporation, Gulf Cooperation Council, Reuters, Israel, Thomson Locations: State for Foreign Trade Thani, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, DUBAI, South Korea, Gulf, Abu Dhabi, Korea, UAE, Thani, Zeyoudi, Israel, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Gaza

☆ South Korea lifts power prices by 5.3% in delayed move
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It is the second increase in power prices this year after a sharper 9.5% hike that took effect at the beginning of the year. The price adjustment had been due on April 1 but was delayed after a public outcry about the increased cost of living. Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), the state-run electricity powerhouse, suffered an operating loss of 6.2 trillion won ($4.69 billion) for the first quarter after a huge 32.6 trillion won loss for the whole of last year. The ministry also announced a 5.3% increase in city gas prices for households. With parliamentary elections some 11 months away, the latest opinion poll by Gallup Korea showed last Friday the disapproval rating on President Yoon stood at 59%, far outpacing the approval rating of 35%.

☆ Column: South Korea cranks up coal imports amid economic recovery push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

However, concerted efforts to revive South Korean export earnings, alongside an economic recovery in South Korea's top trade partner, China, will likely trigger a reversal in Korea's coal use and emissions trends in 2023, undermining global efforts to cut fossil fuel use and pollution totals. CHINA CONNECTIONDiminished industrial production and consumption in China, South Korea's top market, was especially damaging to Korean manufacturers last year, as China is a major consumer of Korean cars, chemicals and electronics, and a key link in South Korea's supply chain for intermediate goods. COAL RELIANCEEven after the price fireworks of 2022, coal remains the cheapest fuel for additional base load power generation in South Korea, which historically generates around 35%-40% of electricity from coal. South Korea thermal coal imports by originAn additional 20%, or roughly 5 million tonnes, comes from Russia, which has been marginalized in international energy markets since Moscow ordered so-called special military operations in Ukraine a year ago. Beyond offering lower grade and lower cost coal, Indonesia and Russia also boast closer proximity to South Korea than high-quality coal sellers Australia and Canada, which helps lower shipment costs.

Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. SOUTH KOREAN FUNDSRelations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Overall there are fewer than 1,300 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to media estimates. The South Korean companies include KT&G (033780.KS), Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS) and other companies that benefited from a 1965 treaty between South Korea and Japan. Asked whether Japanese companies would pitch in to compensate, Park said both Japanese and South Korean businesses were considering a plan to contribute.

SEOUL, Nov 17 (Reuters) - South Korean and Saudi Arabian leaders pledged stronger ties on Thursday in the fields of energy, defence industry and building projects, as the oil-rich kingdom signed investment agreements worth $30 billion with South Korean companies. "In particular, he said he would like to drastically strengthen cooperation with South Korea in the areas of defence industry, infrastructure and construction," Yoon's office said. Saudi-based Asharq TV quoted the kingdom's investment minister as saying deals signed on Thursday were worth $30 billion. "The (South Korean) government will actively support the successful implementation of cooperative projects which apply Korea's state-of-the-art architecture ... in NEOM," said South Korea's trade minister, Lee Chang-yang. Shares in Lotte Fine Chemical (004000.KS), which signed an agreement for chemical industry cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, rose 2.1%.

☆ Asia's energy supply looks secure — even as Europe scrambles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, the EU steered away from a proposed price cap on Russian gas as it laid out new measures to tackle high energy prices. Overall LNG imports fell 7% year-on-year. Overall LNG imports fell 7% year-on-year. The decrease in LNG imports for Japan, Pakistan and India were 17%, 73% and 22% respectively, the IEA said. However, there is a clear increase month on month of coal power generation," IEEFA energy finance analyst Ghee Peh said.

REUTERS/Steve Marcus - RC28BE9D5MZ7HONG KONG, Sept 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Seoul's foot-dragging on climate change is holding back Korea Inc. Last week the country's top conglomerate, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), unveiled an underwhelming net-zero carbon emissions target. Most of that is probably from electricity for factories in South Korea, where renewable power is scarce. Yet President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration plans to lower its renewable-energy target for 2030, favouring nuclear power instead. The company has also joined RE100, a group of global corporations including Apple, Intel and TSMC that are committed to using 100% renewable energy across their own operations. Renewable energy will account for 21.5% of generation capacity by 2030, down from the previous target of 30.2%.

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