South Korea

Robotics

Hyundai Wia invests 400 billion won in robotics, targets 400 billion won sales by 2028

Hyundai Wia will invest 400 billion won in robotics — 1.6 times its 250 billion won robot sales in 2025 — targeting 400 billion won in robotics revenue by 2028. The company is deploying 94 logistics robots across Hyundai Motor Group sites in Singapore, Georgia, Ulsan, Gwangju, and Hwaseong, while building production capacity at its Changwon plant. Strategic investments in AI and software startups aim to secure technology for driverless forklifts and mobile picking robots. The effort supports Hyundai Motor Group’s Atlas-based unmanned manufacturing vision and seeks to raise external robotics sales to 50% by 2030.

2026-07-29

AI & Automation

HMM upsizes fleet plan to 166 ships with $19.7bn budget

HMM has approved a $19.7bn budget to expand its container fleet to 166 ships (1.55m teu) and bulk fleet to 110 vessels (13.52m dwt) by 2030 — up from its 2024 mid-term target of 130 container ships and 12.56m dwt. Its US subsidiary Washington United Terminals (WUT) ordered four new cranes for its Tacoma terminal, raising annual capacity from 590,000 teu to 880,000. As of June, HMM operated 96 container vessels and 61 bulk carriers. Last October, it ordered twelve 13,000-teu LNG dual-fuel containerships. The expansion supports its hub-and-spoke model and intra-Asia market recovery.

2026-07-28

Europe Supply Chain

Samsung, Broadcom ink $200B AI chip supply chain deal

Samsung Electronics and Broadcom Inc. have formed a $200 billion strategic partnership through 2030 to build an integrated AI semiconductor supply chain. The deal, signed at the Korean government–organized San Francisco AI Summit on July 27, 2026, centers on Samsung supplying Broadcom with HBM4/HBM4E memory, sub-2-nanometer foundry capacity, and advanced packaging. Broadcom’s AI chip revenue hit $10.8 billion in Q2 fiscal 2026 — up 143% year-on-year — and is projected to reach $16 billion in Q3. The collaboration aims to challenge TSMC’s dominance and reduce supply chain concentration in AI hardware manufacturing.

2026-07-28

Southeast Asia Supply Chain

ASEAN, South Korea Ink Supply-Chain Resilience Pact Amid $13.4M Halal Expo

ASEAN and South Korea are upgrading their economic partnership to prioritize supply-chain resilience, formalizing new coordination mechanisms at the Jakarta forum on 16 July 2026. Indonesia’s first D-8 Halal Expo closed with US$13.4 million in transaction commitments, supporting the D-8’s US$500 billion intra-bloc trade target by 2030. Indonesia and Vietnam reaffirmed their US$18 billion bilateral trade goal via a five-year action plan. Meanwhile, Singapore’s tennis tournament rose to WTA 500 status, and Southeast Asian horror games — including Pamali and Home Sweet Home — achieved 2.1 million units sold in Q2 2026. Experts stress that ASEAN’s energy security now hinges on a clean, interoperable power grid — not just fuel stockpiles.

2026-07-27

Manufacturing

CMA CGM, Evergreen deliver ULCVs as east-west capacity rises

CMA CGM and Evergreen Marine delivered two ultra-large container vessels — the 24,212 TEU CMA CGM Pantheon and 16,556 TEU Ever Even — in late July 2026, part of a broader wave of seven newbuild deliveries across carriers including Hapag-Lloyd, Zim, ONE, and Wan Hai. These vessels collectively added over 120,000 TEU of capacity to east-west trades, with deployments spanning Asia-Europe, transatlantic, transpacific, and Red Sea routes. The influx arrives amid falling spot rates and tightening capacity discipline, as carriers adjust fleet allocations in response to El Niño–driven Panama Canal constraints and persistent Red Sea disruptions.

2026-07-27

Southeast Asia Supply Chain

ASEAN, South Korea Upgrade AKFTA for Supply Chain Resilience

ASEAN and South Korea are upgrading the ASEAN–Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA) to prioritize supply-chain resilience over tariff reduction. At the 2026 ASEAN–ROK Regional Connectivity Forum in Jakarta, policymakers addressed systemic risks in their deeply integrated trade relationship — where South Korea exported $114 billion to ASEAN and imported $79 billion in 2024. Key gaps include absent joint risk-monitoring mechanisms and fragmented digital customs systems. Proposals include a dedicated AKFTA supply-chain chapter and alignment with ASEAN’s new 2026–2035 Connectivity Strategic Plan, which features 162 key activities. A 2024–2026 mineral cooperation project collected 5,724 datasets to strengthen regional resource intelligence.

2026-07-25

ESG & Regulation

Bank of Korea raises rates 25 bps for first time in 3.5 years

The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% on July 16, 2026 — its first hike in 3.5 years — to counter persistent inflation and stabilize the weakening won. Driven by a semiconductor export boom, South Korea’s Q1 2026 GDP grew 1.8%, prompting the government to lift its annual growth forecast to 3%, a five-year high. Inflation hit a 2½-year peak, and the BOK signaled further tightening, with median forecasts projecting a 3.25% rate by Q1 2027. The move aligns with recent policy shifts in Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and elsewhere.

2026-07-18

Geopolitics

Geopolitics Trumps Supply-Demand in Box Shipping, KOBC Says

The Korea Ocean Business Corp (KOBC) reports that geopolitics now outweighs supply-and-demand fundamentals in container shipping. Since November 2023, Red Sea disruptions have forced Asia-Europe carriers to detour via the Cape of Good Hope, absorbing newbuild capacity and preventing feared oversupply. Freight rate modeling has shifted to incorporate geopolitical risk, distance, and network design. Liner strategies now prioritize flexibility — exemplified by MSC's 'optionality' approach and HMM's hub-and-spoke reinforcement. KOBC's $X-scale investments in US logistics hubs (August 2025), Arctic infrastructure, and HMM equity reflect this structural realignment.

2026-07-12

Supply Chain

ADNOC L&S inks $900M deal for 4 LNG carriers in China

ADNOC Logistics & Services has signed a $900 million contract with Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai for four 175,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers, due for delivery in 2029. This brings its LNG newbuilding programme to 18 vessels. Since 2022, ADNOC L&S has committed over $5 billion to 32 vessels—including $1.2 billion for six prior Jiangnan carriers and $2.5 billion for eight South Korean-built LNG ships—of which nine are delivered and 23 remain pending through 2029. The move aligns with ADNOC’s new global LNG marketing platform targeting 47 million tonnes/year by 2035.

2026-07-12

Japan & Korea Supply Chain

Posco, KB Kookmin Bank launch supply chain finance with industry-low rates

Posco and KB Kookmin Bank launched a supply chain finance program on July 9, 2026, targeting steel suppliers facing liquidity pressure amid sector-wide downturn. Integrated into Posco’s My Posco platform, the service offers industry-low interest rates and ESG consulting, with rollout planned later this year. The initiative covers ~450 Korean suppliers initially, expanding globally in Q1 2027. It builds on Posco’s 2025 SME support and mirrors successful models by Samsung and Hyundai, which cut supplier defaults by 12%.

2026-07-10

Geopolitics

KFTC probes container cartel amid $35M overcharge claim

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is investigating CIMC, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, Singamas, and CXIC Group Containers for alleged price-fixing between 2019 and 2024. The four firms control 95% of global container production; during the pandemic, 20ft container prices more than doubled from $1,750 to $3,690. The KFTC estimates South Korean carriers overpaid by up to $35 million and may fine violators up to 20% of related domestic sales. Parallel US litigation and indictments—including against Singamas CEO Teo Siong Seng—underscore mounting global antitrust pressure.

2026-07-10

Japan & Korea Supply Chain

Trump pledges 25% tariffs on South Korean cars, lumber, pharma

Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to raise tariffs on South Korean imports—including cars, lumber, and pharmaceuticals—to 25%, up from the 15% rate set in November 2025 under a framework trade pact. The hike hinges on South Korea’s National Assembly failing to enact the agreement’s terms. No effective date or official White House documentation has been issued as of January 27, 2026. The framework was first struck in July 2025 and formalized in Gyeongju on October 29, 2025, during a meeting between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

2026-07-09