00:02You're listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:06A 10% market crash, a Chinese chip breakthrough, and Waymo just quietly filed paperwork in Korea.
00:13Any one of these would force a board conversation.
00:16All three landing in one week means corporate Korea has a lot to unpack.
00:22It's Wednesday, July 29th.
00:24Let's look at a business story shaping corporate Korea.
00:27The Kospi fell more than 10% today after reports that a Chinese state-linked firm has begun producing its
00:34own DUV lithography equipment,
00:36a technology previously seen as China's last major semiconductor bottleneck.
00:42On the same day, Waymo completed incorporation of a Korean subsidiary,
00:46a move industry watchers read as preparation for eventual cooperation with Hyundai Motor.
00:52Both developments arrive as NVIDIA's $50 billion data center lease with HUT 8 renews scrutiny of circular financing across the
01:01AI supply chain.
01:02Here's what the numbers show.
01:04The Kospi closed at 6,023.66, down 10.84%, marking its third circuit breaker this month and worst monthly
01:14loss since the 2008 financial crisis.
01:18Waymo has logged 355 million kilometers of autonomous driving and currently runs driverless robo-taxis in 11 U.S. metro
01:27areas,
01:28but Korea's certification process alone takes roughly six months.
01:33Hanwha Ocean's operating profit rose 98% to 736.1 billion won on an open currency position,
01:42while Samsung Heavy Industries' profit rose 58.7% but missed forecasts under its fully hedged strategy.
01:50NVIDIA's data center lease with HUT 8 runs up to $50 billion over 30 years,
01:56and its five-year CDS premium has jumped to 0.82% from a 0.35% to 0.50
02:04% range since December.
02:06The government's $200 billion U.S. investment plan is now weighing a Texas LNG plant as its first project,
02:14tied to a $20 billion annual disbursement cap through January 2029.
02:20So, what does this mean for corporate leaders with Korea exposure?
02:24Earlier, we said Waymo's incorporation looks like preparation for cooperation with Hyundai.
02:30Here's what that actually means for you.
02:32If you run a supply chain or partnership tied to autonomous vehicles,
02:37Korea's certification timeline gives incumbents like Hyundai roughly six months of runway
02:42before Waymo can operate here directly, a window worth using now, not later.
02:49Separately, the currency hedging gap between Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy
02:53is a reminder that policy decisions on FX exposure directly move quarterly results in export-heavy sectors.
03:01Three things to watch.
03:03First, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics report earnings July 29th and July 30th,
03:09a test of whether chip demand justifies current CapEx.
03:14Second, the FOMC meets July 30th amid talk of a surprise rate move.
03:19Third, watch for Waymo's first regulatory filings with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport,
03:26which would signal how soon its Korea timeline accelerates.
03:31That's today's AI Prism, CEO.
03:34This episode was produced with AI assistance based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting
03:39and reviewed by a human editor.
03:42AI Prism is a Juan Ifra award-winning series.
03:45We'll be back tomorrow.
03:46You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
03:52You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
