SK hynix bucked a broader sell-off in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks, Friday, helping drive a rebound in the benchmark KOSPI after the chipmaker said it had dropped its review of a potential U.S. listing of Solidigm, its NAND flash memory subsidiary. Shares of SK hynix closed at 1,277,000 won ($963.48), up 4.42 percent, while Samsung Electronics rose 0.47 percent to 215,500 won. KOSPI came under pressure after a rout in AI-related stocks on Wall Street overnight. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 6.72 percent, with Nvidia, Micron, SanDisk and Intel among the biggest decliners. Korea's benchmark index tumbled more than 4 percent in morning trading, briefly sinking to the 5,300 level, before staging a sharp rebound and reversing its losses later in the session. It closed at 5,550.30, up 0.3 percent. Net buying by retail and institutional investors helped offset selling by foreign investors, who unloaded nearly 1 trillion won worth of shares on a net basis. Retail and institutional investors bought a net 52 billion won and 872 billion won worth of shares, respectivel

Koramco REITs Management and Trust, established in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis to help Korean companies restructure their real estate holdings, has grown into a leading real estate investment manager with 60 trillion won ($45.3 billion) in assets under management. The company said Friday that it held a ceremony marking its 25th anniversary, as it seeks to expand overseas and strengthen its position in Korea's real estate investment market. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Korean companies faced pressure to sell property assets to shore up their balance sheets, but the country lacked the investors and financial infrastructure needed to absorb large-scale real estate sales. To facilitate the transactions and stabilize the market, the government enacted the Real Estate Investment Company Act in 2001. Koramco was established in October that year as Korea's first real estate investment trust (REIT) asset management company. Since then, Koramco has helped develop Korea's real estate finance market, expanding beyond restructuring-focused REITs into listed REITs, real es

Until this week, few on Wall Street had heard of Elice, a small Korean artificial intelligence (AI) neocloud company. Then its shares plunged 32 percent in their Kosdaq debut despite strong institutional investor interest, only to surge nearly 30 percent the following day. Elice's turbulent debut drew an unusual level of attention from international media outlets, including Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC and Barron's, as it raised a multibillion-dollar question: Will the massive sums pouring into AI infrastructure ever pay off? "Its record first-day decline indicated growing investor skepticism toward neoclouds, a fast-growing corner of the AI industry," Bloomberg wrote. "Wednesday's sharp rebound also highlights how fickle market sentiment remains, as strong sector earnings continue to validate growth." When trading began on Tuesday, foreign and institutional investors were quick to sell, offloading a net 9.05 billion won ($6.84 million) and 35.36 billion won worth of shares, respectively. Elice's disappointing debut came amid a sharp deterioration in investor sentiment toward AI infrastructu

Financial authorities said Thursday that they are considering safeguards to address concerns over potential market dominance arising from the merger of Naver Financial and Dunamu. "The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is currently conducting a thorough review of whether the proposed merger between Naver and Dunamu would restrict competition," the Financial Services Commission said in a written response to Rep. Lee Kang-ill of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. "Similarly, under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, we are considering safeguards to ensure that cryptocurrency exchanges, which serve as critical market infrastructure, maintain their public interest role and neutrality without being subject to undue influence from any particular company or shareholder," it added. Last November, Naver Financial announced plans to make Dunamu a wholly owned subsidiary through a comprehensive share swap. With the deal, Naver Financial aims to tap into new growth opportunities in digital assets. Dunamu would gain foundation to expand beyond its existing cryptocurrency exchange and integrate with Na