00:02You're listening to AI PRISM, from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:06HD Hyundai's chairman just marked one year in charge by doubling operating profit and pushing the group into AI data
00:13center power and nuclear energy.
00:15China's rare earth leverage just forced the EU into a trade climb down to save a single German chip supplier.
00:22F&F and a U.S. buyout fund are locked in a standoff over who ends up owning TaylorMade.
00:27Hanwha Life is raising up to 800 billion won in capital to fund two acquisitions at once.
00:34It's Friday, October 16th. Let's look at a business story shaping corporate Korea.
00:39Korean conglomerates are increasingly diversifying beyond their legacy businesses into AI infrastructure, energy, and overseas M&A.
00:48At the same time, global supply chains for critical minerals and semiconductor components remain exposed to geopolitical leverage from Beijing.
00:56Capital markets activity, from acquisitions to capital raises, is accelerating as companies reposition for growth and regulatory capital requirements.
01:06Here's what the numbers show.
01:07HD Hyundai posted $6.96 trillion won, about $5.2 billion, in first-half operating profit, up 187% year
01:18-on-year,
01:18as new energy and AI data center businesses scaled alongside its core shipbuilding unit.
01:24The group's HIMSEN engine unit, which supplies power generation equipment for AI data centers,
01:30has booked $1.5 trillion won, roughly $1.1 billion, in cumulative orders this year.
01:37HD Hyundai plans to invest $833.6 billion won, about $620 million, by 2028,
01:45to expand engine production capacity to 7.2 gigawatts.
01:50The EU is weighing a sanctions rollback on a Chinese firm to rescue a single German chip materials supplier that
01:57depends entirely on Chinese rare earths.
02:00TaylorMade's expected sale price sits near $2.8 billion, with F&F holding a right of first refusal that could
02:08still unwind the preferred bidder's deal.
02:10F&F has built up $470.7 billion won, about $350 million, in cash and secured financing commitments from major
02:20Korean brokerages to exercise that option.
02:23Hanwha Life is raising up to $800 billion won, roughly $590 million in capital,
02:29even though its solvency ratio sits at 167%, well above the regulatory benchmark.
02:35That raise follows roughly $700 billion won, about $520 million, in spending on an acquisition and a rights offering,
02:45moves that could pull the solvency ratio down over the coming year.
02:49So, what does this mean for corporate Korea?
02:52Earlier, we said HD Hyundai's chairman pushed the group into AI data center power and nuclear energy.
02:58Here's what that actually means for you.
03:00Boards overseeing Korea-linked supply chains should expect more conglomerates to diversify revenue away from single-cycle industries like shipbuilding
03:09and to do it through direct capital expenditure rather than acquisitions alone.
03:14The EU's rare earth climbdown and F&F's standoff over TaylorMade both show that Chinese mineral leverage and buyout structures
03:22are now routine board-level risks, not one-off events.
03:26HD Hyundai's Q3 earnings, expected in early November, will confirm whether the new energy business keeps scaling.
03:33Watch the TaylorMade S&PA signing date, still pending as F&F weighs its right of first refusal.
03:40And Hanwha Life's bond pricing in November will show investor appetite for the capital raise.
03:45That's today's AI Prism, CEO.
03:48This episode was produced with AI assistance based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting and reviewed by a human editor.
03:56AI Prism is a WANIFRA award-winning series.
03:59We'll be back tomorrow.
04:00You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
