Korea

South Korea's chaebol Samsung Electronics posted consolidated revenue of $205.6 billion for the first half of 2026, up 98.7 percent year on year, according to its semi-annual reported filed with the Korea Exchange (KRX).

Hyundai Thanh Cong, a Vietnam-Korea joint venture that assembles Hyundai vehicles in Vietnam, held a ceremony last Friday to mark the first shipments of Vietnam-made Hyundai cars to Mexico and Australia, part of a plan to export 15,280 units in 2026.

More restrictive digital regulations in South Korea could reduce startup formation by 8 percent, equivalent to 130 fewer startups per year, and cut venture capital (VC) investment by 10 percent, or ₩1.3 trillion ($910 million) less annually.

Canada-based NEO Battery Materials has received a purchase order for 10,000 units of its 34Ah drone battery cells from South Korea's battery pack manufacturer PM Energy Solution, the former said in a statement on Thursday.

Australia's Lynas Rare Earths and South Korea's JS Link will jointly develop a rare earth permanent magnet factory in Kuantan, Malaysia, following a memorandum of understanding signed in July 2025.

LG Innotek is set to kick off the construction of its $1 billion semiconductor substrate packaging plant in Vietnam's northern coastal city of Hai Phong, in the third quarter of 2026.

Samsung Electronics plans to invest $1 billion in new capital in Vietnam in 2026, after cumulative investment in the country reached $24 billion by end of 2025, CFO of Samsung Electronics Park Soon Cheol said to Vietnamese Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan at a meeting in Hanoi last week.

Thailand has secured more than $4.1 billion in investment pledges across its electric vehicle supply chain, spanning 198 projects covering battery electric vehicles, hybrid systems, battery manufacturing, critical components, and charging infrastructure.

The United States-based healthcare firm GRAIL has closed an equity financing deal in which Samsung affiliates, including Samsung C&T Corporation, invested $110 million through the purchase of GRAIL common stock at $70.05 per share.

Early-stage investor Antler has unveiled 28 startups from Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia as part of its Asia Regional Portfolio Showcase, highlighting a shift from AI copilots and productivity tools toward autonomous systems capable of independently executing complex tasks.