market

SK hynix Inc. said Wednesday it has begun taking steps for listing on the U.S. stock market as the chipmaker aims to improve access to global investors amid its artificial intelligence (AI) drive.

The South Korean chipmaker filed a “confidential submission” to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the previous day, with a goal to have its American depositary receipts (ADRs) listed on the U.S. stock exchange within the year, it said in a regulatory filing.

“We are preparing with the goal of listing in the second half,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kwak Noh-jung said during a general shareholders meeting in Icheon, some 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

“As the issuance size and method have not yet been finalized and the listing review process has begun, I cannot disclose specific details in accordance with domestic and international laws and regulations,” he said. “We plan to proceed in a way that helps enhance shareholder value.”

ADRs refer to securities issued in the U.S. stock market that allow the trading of shares in foreign firms. They allow companies to attract U.S.-based investors without a full listing of common shares.

The size, schedule and other details of the process have not yet been confirmed and will largely be determined by market environments, the company noted, adding the final decision will be made by the SEC.

SK hynix’s move is expected to help the chipmaker broaden its funding base in overseas markets, industry watchers said.

The chipmaker said it plans to make another related regulatory filing within six months or earlier if there are further updates.

Separately, Kwak outlined plans to secure more than 100 trillion won (US$66.8 billion) in net cash to support long-term strategic investment for further growth.

“Financial soundness that enables stable investment is essential to respond to structural demand growth and maintain competitiveness,” Kwak said. “We will secure world-class financial strength to lay the foundation for long-term growth.”

According to an annual report, SK hynix maintained net cash of 12.7 trillion won as of end-2025.

Kwak added the company will continue shipments of its high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips as planned this year and aims to release samples of the next-generation HBM4E product later this year.

“HBM3E chips remain the mainstay, and shipments of HBM4 will increase in the second half. Our overall shipment schedule remains largely unchanged,” he said. “We plan to present samples of HBM4E within the year.”

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March 20 (Asia Today) — This commentary is the Asia Today Editor’s Op-Ed.

With Seoul apartment values posting their biggest increase in five years, concerns are growing that a heavier property tax burden will spill into the Jeonse and monthly rental markets. Jeonse is a unique Korean housing lease system where tenants pay a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent, and get it back at the end of the lease.

Landlords are already showing signs of passing higher holding costs on to tenants through steeper rents and larger Jeonse deposits. If the government now moves to raise taxes further, including on single-home owners whose properties are deemed non-residential, it risks worsening instability in the rental market.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board, Seoul apartment Jeonse prices rose for a 57th straight week as of the second week of March, with the cumulative increase reaching 4.79%. Monthly rents climbed even faster. In February, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Seoul stood at 1.515 million won, or about $1,010, up 12.5% from a year earlier.

The sales market, by contrast, has cooled. Apartment prices in Seoul’s three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu have fallen for four consecutive weeks. But the Jeonse and monthly rental markets are becoming more unstable as new apartment supply shrinks and listings for existing units tighten. The shortage has been aggravated by the reinstatement in May of a capital gains tax surcharge on owners of multiple homes.

Against that backdrop, higher officially assessed home values are likely to add even more upward pressure on rents. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said this year’s official values for multifamily housing in Seoul rose 18.67% from a year earlier. That was the third-largest increase on record, behind only 2007 and 2021, both periods of sharp home-price gains.

In the three Gangnam districts and the Mapo-Yongsan-Seongdong area, where assessed values climbed more than 20%, many homeowners could see property tax bills rise by more than 50%. Even without a revision to tax law, the annual burden can increase by as much as 50%. Once local education taxes and the rural special tax are included, the actual increase can be even greater.

The number of single-home owners subject to the comprehensive real estate tax also rose sharply. Homes assessed above 1.2 billion won, or about $800,000, now total 487,362, up 170,000 from a year earlier.

For many elderly homeowners living on national pension payments, interest income or dividends, annual property taxes running from several million won to tens of millions of won can be difficult to absorb. Assessed values are also used to calculate regional health insurance premiums and can affect existing pension burdens, making the overall impact even heavier.

South Korea has already seen what happens when landlords shift tax costs onto tenants. During the previous progressive administration, rising tax burdens contributed to sharp increases in monthly rents and Jeonse deposits. Past data show that when the property tax rate rises by 1 percentage point, about 30% of the additional burden is passed on through Jeonse deposits and roughly 40% to 50% through monthly rent.

Even so, the government is considering higher property taxes or smaller long-term holding deductions to curb what it calls high-value single-home investments used for non-residential purposes. But real estate taxation can have broad collateral effects. If efforts to suppress housing prices go too far, tenants may once again end up paying the price.

The government should scrap any reckless plan to raise property tax rates on single-home owners.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260319010005978

Live Nation, the ticketing giant that reached a tentative settlement with the Department of Justice last week, remains under fire.

A coalition of more than 30 states that had joined the original lawsuit filed in 2024 is refusing to accept the $200-million settlement, causing the trial to resume this week in Manhattan’s Federal Court.

The settlement with the Justice Department requires Beverly Hills-based Live Nation to open Ticketmaster to rival ticket sellers, force the company to open select venues to competing promoters and cap service fees at 15%. California is one of the key states still involved in the trial.

But those steps fall short, critics say.

“It’s clear that Live Nation has manipulated the market and made itself untouchable by competitors, hurting artists, hurting fans, hurting venues, all the while, raking in the cash,” said California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta at the Capitol Forum conference last week. “Not because it’s a better service or product, because it acted illegally and created a monopoly.”

U.S. senators have also chimed in. Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar recently introduced the Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act to strengthen the review of antitrust settlements. Klobuchar said in a release that it’s “clear the American people got the raw end of the deal.”

And Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal released a report that provides new details into the inner workings of Ticketmaster and urges attorneys general across the nation to reject the settlement.

Blumenthal said that the Trump administration’s settlement with Live Nation will keep consumers vulnerable to Ticketmaster’s “anticompetitive practices” and ultimately push “concert tickets farther out of reach for fans.”

The senator’s report, entitled “So Casually Cruel: How Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Supercharges Prices and Fees,” examined over 100,000 documents and Ticketmaster’s revenue data. The report argues that the company leveraged its market control to make tickets available on the resale market before they were available to the general public in an effort to hike prices and boost profits.

“The ticketing market is broken,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

In its own statement, Ticketmaster said Blumenthal’s report “misrepresents how the live events industry works” and that the problem lies in the secondary ticketing industry.

“This is why we’ve long called for industry resale reform, including price caps, while also developing tools to empower artists and protect fans,” Ticketmaster said in a statement.

Recently, Ticketmaster has backed ticketing bills like AB-1349 and advocated to Congress for an industry-wide resale cap.

Sens. Blumenthal and Klobuchar are among many industry experts who say the settlement doesn’t adequately address anticompetitive practices and falls short of protecting consumers from high ticket prices.

Under Klobuchar’s new bill, courts could have 90 days to review public comments and government responses.

“When the government prosecutes antitrust violations, the goal should be to uphold the law, lower prices, and protect consumers and small businesses,” Klobuchar said in the statement.

Lindsay Owens, the executive director of the economic policy nonprofit Groundwork Collaborative, said the settlement will end up being “incredibly costly for concertgoers, performers, and independent venues.”

“California and 35 other states are standing up for Americans who are sick and tired of being ripped off and having to scrimp and save to enjoy a night out,” Owens said in a statement.

This ongoing trial is one of several major legal battles the ticketing giant is facing. The company is also being sued by the Federal Trade Commission and is dealing with a handful of class-action lawsuits from groups of concertgoers.

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.

It’s the perfect place if you like a combination of adventures and chilling out, taking in the gorgeous scenery.

A historic market town in the UK is definitely worth a visit this spring, as there’s so much to see and do there. It’s ideal for adventure seekers, and those who just want to walk around, eat good food and chill out.

Tregaron is one of Wales’s oldest market towns. It’s home to independent retailers, coffee shops, and the elegant Y Talbot, a grade II-listed hotel, pub, and restaurant, positioned right in the town square’s centre.

From here, you can embark on an exhilarating road trip along a former drover’s track that showcases hairpin turns through wild terrain.

The Abergwesyn Pass is a 20-mile single-track route stretching from Llanwrtyd Wells to Tregaron. Along this isolated road, you’ll encounter a notorious stretch called “The Devil’s Staircase”, reports Wales Online.

This appropriately named portion of the Abergwesyn Pass features hairpin curves and sharp climbs that aren’t suited to anxious motorists.

For adventurous drivers, you’ll love tackling one of Wales’ most isolated countryside regions, encountering sheep, gnarled trees and rocky formations along the way. It’s extremely steep, reaching a maximum gradient of 20.1%, and cuts through thick woodland towards miles of expansive, barren valleys, providing a descent that will push your brakes to their absolute limits.

Drive carefully and enjoy the scenery as you meander through the wilderness of the Cambrian Mountains, where you could potentially encounter nobody throughout your entire journey. You can also tackle this route by bicycle if your legs are ready for the test.

As well as the Abergwesyn Pass, Soar y Mynydd, Wales’ most isolated chapel, is worth the detour. This modest, whitewashed church was constructed in 1822 to minister to an extremely dispersed community of farmers.

Wandering through this tranquil location, you could easily assume the chapel has been deserted for years. Actually, visiting preachers travel from across Wales to hold services in Welsh.

It’s a serene spot for a picnic, as there’s often nobody else there.

Llyn Brianne Reservoir also deserves a stop to witness an enormous dam. You might be surprised to learn that this striking stone-built dam is Britain’s tallest, rising 91 metres (300 ft) above the River Tywi.

Containing an incredible 64 million cubic metres of water at almost 300 metres (990 ft) above sea level is a remarkable engineering achievement. Building work began in October 1968, with the dam constructed from crushed rock, larger stone, and clay sourced from the surrounding area.

After dark, it becomes a stargazing hotspot in the Cambrian Mountains, making it an excellent location for astrophotography.

Further south, beyond Llyn Brianne reservoir, lies the amazing RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas reserve. The reserve encompasses vital habitats of oak woodland, wet alder woodland, and scrubland, all defined by heavy rainfall and swift-flowing rivers.

These conditions are ideal for woodland birds, whilst also offering the perfect environment for significant lichens and bryophytes. Whether you begin or finish the route at Tregaron, you should make time to discover this small Welsh-speaking town. Here, you’ll discover a livestock market, the Tregaron Red Kite Centre and Museum, and locally sourced food and cask ales in a beautifully converted 16th-century Welsh inn.

Y Talbot is an independently owned hotel and Michelin Guide-listed restaurant with 2 AA Rosettes. This charming boutique hotel radiates a ‘cosy country inn’ atmosphere with its slate floors and inglenooks.

The location is said to be the final resting place of a circus elephant which perished in 1848 and lies beneath what is currently Y Talbot’s beer garden.

The establishment, run by head chef Dafydd, who trained under Marco Pierre White, showcases regional ingredients, including lamb, beef, and cheeses sourced from the Teifi Valley, fish from Milford Haven, and shellfish from Cardigan Bay.

Close by, you’ll also discover a neglected Welsh abbey where princes lie buried. Strata Florida Abbey near Tregaron is a remarkable location in Wales where history, royalty, and spirituality meet.

Established in 1201 by white-robed Cistercian monks, this hallowed ground was formerly among medieval Wales’s most vital religious and cultural hubs.

It also serves as the burial site of numerous Welsh princes, including the renowned Llywelyn the Great, who famously convened a council here to guarantee his son Dafydd’s position as the legitimate successor to the Welsh throne.

The Abbey was established as a major institution serving the indigenous population of Wales and Western Christianity through its affiliation with the pan-European Cistercian Order of Monasteries.

The carved west doorway into the Abbey remains standing in isolation and provides an eternal vista down the nave towards where the high altar formerly stood.

You can still see some of the decorated tiles that would have adorned the church floors, along with elaborate carvings throughout the site.

The EU’s six largest economies are urging Brussels to accelerate the long-awaited integration of capital markets to “strengthen Europe’s growth potential”, according to a letter sent on Tuesday to the Eurogroup boss and several EU commissioners.

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The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain say that making tangible progress on the rebranded “Savings and Investment Union” has become an “urgent necessity,” pledging to push “this important project forward”, in a letter addressed to EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis and Eurogroup President.

“Deeper and more integrated capital markets would strengthen Europe’s growth potential, enhance its economic sovereignty and provide a stronger foundation for financing common priorities,” the letter said.

In particular, the ministers call on EU institutions to reach an agreement among member states by summer on one of the key elements of the capital markets integration agenda: the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP).

The MISP is a set of legislative proposals by the European Commission aimed at strengthening the supervision of financial market infrastructures across the bloc and improving how they operate.

“A central purpose of the package is to remove national barriers and to improve cross border distribution of investment funds, so investors have better access to the EU capital markets and companies benefit from deeper pools of capital”, the letter says.

The six countries also ask the EU to advance its digital payments agenda, specifically by promoting private pan-European payment networks that can compete with US-based Visa and Mastercard, and by accelerating the adoption of the digital euro.

Agreement by the summer

Capital markets allow companies and governments to raise funds by selling assets such as shares or bonds to investors.

To strengthen and integrate these markets across the EU, the European Commission has proposed a series of legislative measures under the Savings and Investment Union package.

In recent months, EU countries and institutions have signalled a more ambitious goal, aiming for an agreement among co-legislators on most of the SIU legislation by June.

However, EU countries are not fully aligned on the technical aspects of capital markets integration, causing delays to the broader strategic agenda.

Another key legislative proposal is the revisions of the securitisation framework, which are EU rules introduced in 2019 with the objective of ensuring safer market practices, to avoid other financial crisis such as the 2008 global shock.

The revision, which aims to simplify certain requirements and reduce high operational costs, is to be approved by autumn 2026, according to signatories.

Digital payments

The six EU countries also support the development of additional pan-European private digital payment solutions, viewed as a key pillar of the EU’s strategic autonomy, since most digital payments are currently processed through US-based infrastructures.

According to 2025 European Central Bank data, Mastercard and Visa account for 61% of card payments and nearly 100% of cross-border ones.

In this context, the six countries are also calling for an accelerated rollout of a public digital payment solution: the digital euro. Currently under negotiation, it would be an electronic form of cash issued by the European Central Bank, serving as an additional payment option alongside cash and bank-issued cards.

The project is facing significant delays in the European Parliament. In particular, the leading rapporteur on the file, the Spanish centre-right MEP Fernando Navarrete, is pushing to reduce the scope of the digital euro to offline payments only, in order to avoid competing with other private infrastructure, such as Visa and Mastercard.

“We push for swift conclusions of the legislative process of the digital euro and we invite the European Parliament to follow the Council’s approach to establish the digital euro (in both its online and offline modalities) as a comprehensive, interoperable and sovereign European payment solution for European citizens”, the six countries wrote in the letter.

The co-legislators initially aimed for full adoption of the digital euro by the end of 2026. However, due to delays in the parliament, the six countries have not set a specific adoption deadline.

The US-Israeli military campaign that began on Saturday has already killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior commanders, triggered retaliatory strikes across the region and raised the spectre of prolonged disruption to global energy flows.

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While diplomats scramble and the UN calls for restraint, certain defence contractors and energy majors have emerged as early market victors.

As the conflict enters its fourth day, demand for advanced weaponry, missile-defence systems and intelligence platforms is projected to surge.

Lockheed Martin’s stock, the world’s largest defence contractor by revenue, hit a new all-time high on Monday, closing at $676.70 after rising over 4%.

Its F-35 fighters, precision munitions and radar systems are central to the air campaign under way over Iran.

The rally extended across the defence sector.

Northrop Grumman shares jumped 6%, lifted by its stealth-bomber and missile-defence technologies.

RTX, formerly Raytheon, gained nearly 5% while L3Harris Technologies and General Dynamics also recorded solid increases.

Palantir Technologies, whose data-analytics tools support intelligence operations, rose almost 6%.

European companies followed the upward trend on a more modest scale. Germany’s Renk and Italy’s Leonardo posted gains as investors eyed possible increases in NATO procurement and export orders.

Analysts note that defence budgets, already earmarked for growth in 2026, now face even fewer hurdles in Washington and European capitals.

With President Trump stating that operations could last “four to five weeks” or “far longer”, and Iran continuing missile and drone barrages, markets are positioning for weeks of high-intensity military activity.

The gains reflect classic geopolitical risk pricing.

Other market outliers

These rises stand in sharp contrast to broader equity weakness, highlighting how narrowly the benefits are concentrated. Beyond the pure-play defence names, energy companies have been the other clear outperformers, riding the oil and gas wave.

Iranian retaliation has already included strikes to energy sites in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, which could choke off roughly 20% of global oil supply and send energy prices soaring.

The international benchmarks for oil, Brent crude (BZ) and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), are trading at over $82.50 and $75.50 respectively, at the time of writing.

Alongside them, integrated oil majors moved swiftly higher.

ExxonMobil shares rose more than 4% recording a new all-time high, while Chevron, Occidental Petroleum and ConocoPhillips posted comparable gains.

In Europe, Shell and TotalEnergies advanced in line with the global pricing surge.

The QatarEnergy LNG production halt announced on Monday, following Iranian drone strikes on Ras Laffan and Mesaieed facilities, sent European benchmark TTF gas prices over 50% higher, reaching €62/MWh by Tuesday.

Markets reacted swiftly as the indefinite shutdown raised immediate fears of rerouted demand and renewed energy inflation risks in Europe.

LNG equities climbed notably since Monday’s open on the news.

Cheniere Energy, the largest LNG exporter in the US, Venture Global and Australia’s Woodside Energy, all saw intraday strength at the start of the week.

However, analysts caution that actual substitution will take time due to shipping and contract constraints, keeping price action geopolitically sensitive.

The European Commission announced it is closely tracking both price and supply developments and will convene an Energy Task Force with Member States, in liaison with the International Energy Agency, for a meeting sometime this week.