
In today’s briefing:
- Hong Ra-Hee To Give 1.8 Million Shares of Samsung C&T to Her Son Lee Jae-Yong
- Primer: KakaoBank (323410 KS) – Dec 2025
- Primer: Orion Holdings (001800 KS) – Dec 2025
- Primer: S&T Motiv (064960 KS) – Dec 2025

Hong Ra-Hee To Give 1.8 Million Shares of Samsung C&T to Her Son Lee Jae-Yong
- It was reported that Hong Ra-Hee plans to give all of her 1,808,577 shares in Samsung C&T (1.06% stake) to her son Lee Jae-Yong on 2 January 2026.
- After this stake transfer, Lee Jae-Yong’s stake in Samsung C&T will rise to 20.82% and Hong Ra-Hee will no longer have any stake in Samsung C&T.
- Higher ownership of Samsung C&T by Lee Jae-Yong will likely place a bigger focus on Samsung C&T, especially on its importance as a quasi-holding company of the entire Samsung Group.
Primer: KakaoBank (323410 KS) – Dec 2025
- KakaoBank is a dominant digital-only bank in South Korea, leveraging the vast user base of the KakaoTalk messenger platform to achieve significant market penetration and rapid growth. Its branchless model provides a structural cost advantage over traditional incumbents.
- The bank is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy focused on expanding its customer base to 30 million and total assets to KRW 100 trillion by 2027. Key initiatives include diversifying into new loan products, enhancing platform services (e.g., advertising, loan comparison), and expanding internationally into markets like Indonesia and Thailand.
- While growth has been robust, the company faces significant risks from intense competition from other digital banks (K-Bank, Toss Bank) and traditional banks’ digital offerings. Furthermore, regulatory uncertainty, particularly concerning its largest shareholder, Kakao Corp., and potential government measures to manage household debt, presents a material headwind.
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Primer: Orion Holdings (001800 KS) – Dec 2025
- Orion Holdings is a leading South Korean confectionery company with a strong brand portfolio, including the iconic ‘Choco Pie’, and a significant, growing presence in key international markets such as China, Vietnam, and Russia.
- The company is strategically diversifying its business into new growth areas, including beverages, convenient meal replacements, and biotechnology, to build a more comprehensive food and healthcare enterprise.
- Despite robust growth in revenue and net income, the company’s market capitalization has underperformed, suggesting a potential valuation disconnect that may present an opportunity for investors.
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Primer: S&T Motiv (064960 KS) – Dec 2025
- S&T Motiv is a South Korean manufacturer of automotive components and defense products, with a growing focus on parts for electric and hybrid vehicles.
- The company’s defense segment, which produces small arms for the South Korean military and for export, is expected to be a significant growth driver due to heightened global security concerns.
- While the traditional automotive parts business faces challenges from the decline in internal combustion engine vehicles, S&T Motiv‘s investment in electric vehicle components positions it to capitalize on the shift to electrification.
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