South Korea chip giant SK hynix mulls US stock market listing

South Korean chip giant SK hynix said on Wednesday it was considering a US stock market listing using treasury shares as part of efforts to boost shareholder value.SK hynix is one of the world’s leading memory chip makers — along with Samsung Electronics — manufacturing chips essential for artificial intelligence products and the data centres that the fast-evolving industry relies on.In a regulatory filing, SK hynix said it was “considering various measures to enhance shareholder value, including listing on the US stock market using treasury shares, but no decisions have been finalised yet”.The company said it was considering listing its treasury shares as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), instruments representing a foreign stock that is traded on a US exchange.”We will make a further announcement once the specific details are finalised, or within one month,” it added.SK hynix shares were up 4.6 percent in early trading in Seoul.Industry sources have speculated that SK hynix could be seeking underwriters for a potential ADR programme using treasury shares — shares bought back by the company that issued them.ADRs, issued by US depositary banks, allow foreign shares to trade in the United States like domestic stocks.South Korea’s government has said it will triple spending on artificial intelligence next year as it hopes to propel the country into the ranks of the world’s top three AI powers alongside the United States and China.Analysts say SK hynix’s US listing could unlock pent-up valuation in the South Korean market by drawing in global investors.They are also seen as potentially narrowing the valuation gap between the South Korean chip giant and US peers like Micron.In October the firm reported record profit in the third quarter, boosted by strong demand for artificial intelligence.The strong performance followed signed partnerships with AI giants including OpenAI and Broadcom to supply advanced memory chips.South Korea’s presidential office is also set to hold a meeting on its national chip strategy Wednesday, attended by government officials as well as executives from Samsung and SK hynix.

Honduran leader alleges vote tampering, US interference

Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday denounced what she called tampering with results in the recent general election, and accused US counterpart Donald Trump of interfering in the vote.The final votes are still being counted after the November 30 presidential election, and suspicions of interference have been fueled by successive computer failures that have stalled tallying.Trump-backed conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, 67, on Monday had 40.53 percent of votes, followed closely by right-wing candidate Salvador Nasralla with 39.16 percent, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).Nasralla has also complained about alleged electoral corruption and on Monday described the results as “theft,” arguing he was in fact leading by 20 percent.Both are well ahead of the candidate from Castro’s left-wing Libre party, Rixi Moncada.Speaking at a rally in the center of the country, Castro said people had taken part in the election with “courage and determination.”However, she said the process was marked by “threats, coercion, manipulation of the TREP” — the country’s preliminary results system — and “tampering with the popular will.”Castro also claimed Trump had “interfered” in the election by threatening Hondurans that there would be “consequences” if they voted for Moncada.Trump declared his clear support for Asfura in the final stretch of the campaign, declaring him a “friend of freedom” and accusing Nasralla of merely “pretending to be an anti-communist.”Trump also issued a surprise pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who had been serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States on drug charges of helping traffic hundreds of tons of cocaine.Nasralla is demanding a “vote-by-vote” recount of the tallies which, according to him, show “a pattern of fraud where biometric recognition was not used and the tallies were drafted arbitrarily.”More than a week after the elections, thousands of voting records with “inconsistencies” still need to be reviewed, election officials said.Late Sunday, the Libre party demanded “the total annulment” of the elections and called for protests and strikes, while urging officials not to cooperate with the government transition.- Request to Interpol -The Trump administration said Monday that the election had been fair and that there was “no credible evidence” justifying its annulment.The electoral council has until December 30 to declare a winner, according to Honduran law.Amid the uncertainty over who will succeed Castro, Honduran Attorney General Johel Zelaya requested Tuesday that Interpol execute an arrest warrant against ex-president Hernandez.The warrant was issued in 2023 — when Hernandez was already in US custody — over alleged money laundering and fraud.On Tuesday, Hernandez’s lawyer, Renato Stabile, dismissed the prosecutor’s request, linking it to a “desperate and shameful attempt” by the Honduran left to “remain in power,” according to a statement to AFP in the United States.The former Honduran president, who is from the same party as Trump’s favored candidate Asfura, has ruled out returning to Honduras anyway because he fears for his life, according to his wife Ana Garcia.

Autistic Scottish artist Nnena Kalu smashes Turner Prize ‘glass ceiling’

Scotland’s Nnena Kalu took home the Turner Prize on Tuesday, with the autistic artist beating four competitors including an Iraqi painter to the prestigious contemporary art award.Glasgow-born Kalu, 59, was nominated for her hanging sculptures using wrapped material, including fabric, rope and tape, with the British disability charity Sense hailing her shortlisting as “incredibly significant”.The jury of the prize, established in 1984 to celebrate contemporary British art, hailed Kalu’s art as “bold and compelling” as well as “the powerful presence these works have”.”This amazing lady has worked so hard for such a long time,” said Charlotte Hollinshead, Kalu’s helper, hailing the artist’s perseverance in the face of stigma. “Nnena has faced an incredible amount of discrimination, which continues to this day, so hopefully this award smashes that prejudice away,” Hollinshead added. “It’s seismic. It’s broken a very stubborn glass ceiling.”The Turner Prize is awarded each year to an artist born or based in Britain for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work.Named after English painter J.M.W. Turner and his legacy of artistic experimentation, the prize, organised by the Tate institution, is one of the world’s leading visual arts awards.The four shortlisted artists were announced on April 23, 250 years to the day since Turner’s birth.British-born Kalu and Rene Matic were joined by Iraqi painter Mohammed Sami and Canadian-Korean artist Zadie Xa. All four now live and work in London, according to the prize organisers.Their work has been on display since September at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford, in northern England.- Seashells, war, race -Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize 2025 jury, denied that Kalu’s neurodivergence was a factor in the choice to award her the prize.”It was interest in, and a real belief in, the quality and uniqueness of her practice, which is inseparable from who she is… whatever the artist’s identity is,” Farquharson added.Sami, 40, who had been seen by some commentators as the favourite, explores memory and conflict in his war-torn home country in his paintings.Matic, 27, an artist from central England, presents work that blends intimate photography with sound and objects, addressing themes of race, care and vulnerability.Xa, 41, is a finalist for her installation of bells, seashell soundscapes and painted walls drawing on Korean shamanism and ocean folklore.Every other year, the Turner Prize exhibition ventures out of the Tate Britain gallery in London.The prize-winner receives £25,000 ($33,300), while the remaining shortlisted artists will be awarded £10,000 each.- ‘Launching pad’ -Christopher Turner, head of the architecture and design department at London’s V&A museum, said the prize has “struggled to connect with the public… as it used to”.”That said, it is an important launching pad for emerging and mid-career artists,” he told AFP.Previous winners include now-household names such as duo Gilbert & George, Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread, Antony Gormley, Tracey Emin, Steve McQueen and Damien Hirst.The annual award seeks to encourage debate around new advances in contemporary art, which has often spilled over into controversy.Chris Ofili, for example, won in 1998 for incorporating elephant dung into his paintings.Hirst in 1995 exhibited pieces including a rotting cow’s head, while Emin’s 1999 entry “My Bed” — an unmade double bed with stained sheets surrounded by soiled underwear, condoms, slippers and empty drink bottles — attracted huge attention.Scottish artist Jasleen Kaur won last year’s prize with a solo exhibition, which included an installation of a Ford Escort car with a giant doily on it, as the award celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Nobel: des doutes s’installent sur la venue à Oslo de l’opposante vénézuélienne Machado

Les doutes augmentent sur la possibilité pour l’opposante vénézuélienne Maria Corina Machado de recevoir en personne son Nobel de la paix mercredi à Oslo, après l’annulation d’une conférence de presse qui était prévue mardi à l’Institut Nobel norvégien.Initialement prévue à la mi-journée, cette conférence de presse de l’opposante de 58 ans, qui vit cachée dans son pays, a d’abord été repoussée, puis finalement annulée.”Maria Corina Machado a elle-même dit à quel point il était difficile de venir en Norvège”, a déclaré à l’AFP le porte-parole de l’Institut Nobel, Erik Aasheim, en guise d’explication. “Nous espérons qu’elle viendra à la cérémonie” de remise du Nobel mercredi, a-t-il ajouté, jetant un doute sur sa participation, jusqu’alors présentée comme hautement probable.Empêchée de se présenter à la présidentielle de juillet 2024 au Venezuela, Mme Machado s’était réfugiée dans la clandestinité dans son propre pays quelques jours plus tard.Sa dernière apparition publique remonte au 9 janvier à Caracas lors d’une manifestation contre l’investiture du président de gauche Nicolas Maduro pour son troisième mandat.Les Etats-Unis et une partie de la communauté internationale ne reconnaissent pas les résultats, entachés de fraude selon l’opposition qui a revendiqué la victoire de son candidat, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, aujourd’hui en exil.Si sa famille a déjà fait le voyage d’Oslo pour assister à la cérémonie qui doit débuter mercredi à 13H00 (12H00 GMT) à l’Hôtel de ville d’Oslo, on ignore actuellement où Mme Machado se trouve.Le mois dernier, le procureur général du Venezuela a dit à l’AFP qu’elle serait considérée comme “fugitive” si elle quittait son pays.- “Va-t-en guerre” -Le prix Nobel de la paix lui a été attribué le 10 octobre pour ses efforts en faveur d’une transition démocratique au Venezuela. Au pouvoir depuis 2013, Nicolas Maduro est accusé de dérive autoritaire par les Etats-Unis et l’Union européenne, qui ont multiplié les sanctions.La venue de Mme Machado à Oslo soulèverait l’épineuse question de son éventuel retour au Venezuela et de sa capacité à diriger l’opposition vénézuélienne depuis un éventuel exil.Son ancienne cheffe de campagne, Magalli Meda, a exclu mardi qu’elle choisisse l’exil. Pour Michael Shifter, professeur associé à l’université de Georgetown, “quel que soit le scénario – que Machado puisse ou non retourner au Venezuela —, il sera très difficile de maintenir l’élan du mouvement qu’elle a inspiré en l’absence de progrès vers un changement politique”.”Certes, il sera ardu pour Machado de diriger l’opposition, en exil. Mais ce ne sera pas facile non plus de le faire en restant dans le pays (quand) la majorité des Vénézuéliens font face à des conditions économiques et humanitaires désespérées et à une répression accrue du régime de Maduro”, a-t-il dit à l’AFP.Parmi les nombreux membres de la famille de la lauréate qui se trouvent déjà à Oslo pour assister à la cérémonie figurent sa mère, ses trois sœurs et ses trois enfants.Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia et plusieurs dirigeants d’Amérique latine, dont le président argentin Javier Milei, sont également arrivés ou attendus dans une capitale norvégienne placée sous haute sécurité.Si elle est saluée pour ses efforts en faveur d’une démocratisation au Venezuela, Mme Machado est aussi critiquée pour la proximité de ses idées avec celles du président américain Donald Trump à qui elle a dédié son Nobel et qui a menacé le Venezuela d’une intervention militaire.Quelques manifestants se sont réunis à l’extérieur de l’Institut Nobel mardi derrière une banderole “Pas de prix de la paix pour les va-t-en guerre”. Le président vénézuélien Nicolas Maduro a “remercié” mardi soir à la télévision “le peuple de Norvège” qui a manifesté pour “soutenir le Venezuela” et “dire non à la guerre pour le pétrole, non au sang pour le pétrole”.La remise du prix coïncide avec le déploiement par les Etats-Unis d’une importante flottille militaire dans les Caraïbes et des frappes américaines mortelles sur des bateaux présentés comme se livrant à du trafic de drogue, des opérations que Mme Machado a justifiées.M. Maduro assure que leur véritable objectif est de le renverser et de s’emparer des réserves pétrolières du Venezuela.

67 journalistes tués en un an, près de la moitié dans la bande de Gaza, selon RSF

67 journalistes ont été tués dans l’exercice ou en raison de leur métier à travers le monde en un an, dont près de la moitié dans la bande de Gaza “sous le feu des forces armées israéliennes”, accuse Reporters sans frontières dans son bilan 2025 publié mardi.”Le nombre de journalistes tués (du 1er décembre 2024 …

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Est de la RDC: le M23 soutenu par le Rwanda pénètre dans la ville stratégique d’Uvira

Le M23 soutenu par le Rwanda et son armée a pénétré mardi dans les faubourgs d’Uvira, ville stratégique de l’est de RDC située aux portes du Burundi voisin, mettant à mal un accord “pour la paix” récemment entériné sous les auspices de Washington.Cette nouvelle percée du groupe armé antigouvernemental M23, qui affirme défendre les intérêts …

Est de la RDC: le M23 soutenu par le Rwanda pénètre dans la ville stratégique d’Uvira Read More »