Ecosystem Roundup: Betagro buys control of Freshket as Thai corporates close in

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is pointing the finger at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the Trump administration's failure to place Nvidia customer Megaspeed on a U.S. trade blacklist for national security concerns. When pressed Friday over who was behind the decision, Bessent told CNBC, "Treasury, War, USTR [U.S. Trade Representative] and State … were in...

President Trump on Thursday nominated two officials each to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Trump nominated Democrat Kristin Johnson and Republican Steven Levine to the SEC, with their respective terms set to expire in 2029 and 2030. Johnson previously served as a commissioner at the CFTC, after...

Jensen Huang’s abrupt resignation from Nvidia has cast uncertainty over the US chip giant’s multibillion-dollar investments in open-source artificial intelligence, while potentially depriving Chinese developers of one of their most influential advocates in Washington. His departure could prompt Nvidia to scale back spending on open-weight models and their supporting infrastructure, analysts said, although strong commercial incentives would likely keep the company committed to the broader...

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify before Congress amid bipartisan concerns about the Nvidia spy scandal and the agency's enforcement of chip export controls. Lutnick has "proactively agreed to appear voluntarily" before the Senate Banking Committee, spokesperson Kristen Eichamer said in a statement. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) sent letters to both...

MANILA, Philippines — NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has resigned after admitting to his affair, and investigations on Huang as a target by foreign intelligence efforts. Huang’s resignation as company president, CEO, and board member took effect immediately, ending his 33-year tenure at the company. Huang’s admittance to an affair On November 8, Huang sent an

Microsoft is still working to restore access to its services after a massive global outage impacted dozens of its services on Thursday. The company said early Friday that it is “seeing encouraging recovery progress,” according to a statement shared on social media.  “Some users may still experience intermittent issues as recovery actions continue,” it reads....

The memory business has rarely had it this good, thanks to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Korea’s chipmakers are reporting extraordinary earnings and unusual confidence that the good times will last. SK hynix’s third-quarter operating profit rose more than sevenfold to 83.3 trillion won ($62 billion), an operating margin of almost 80 percent. Samsung Electronics’ rose nearly ninefold to 107.4 trillion won, with its memory business setting records of its own. Across the West Sea, China’s challengers are sharing in the windfall. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) remains far smaller, but its quarterly revenue rose more than sevenfold to 118.7 billion yuan ($17.8 billion), with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 54.4 billion yuan, reversing years of losses. CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) are the twin pillars of China’s drive for memory self-sufficiency, part of Beijing’s broader pursuit of technological independence facing U.S. export restrictions. Fresh capital, new factories and increasingly sophisticated technology are helping them challenge th

Credit card users will be able to convert their dormant reward points into regional cash vouchers starting May next year, officials said Friday, as part of efforts to boost consumption and breathe vitality into local economies, The government announced the measure after President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials in late June to allow the conversion of "various hidden or dormant points into local currency to boost consumer vitality and revitalize traditional markets and neighborhood shops," officials said. The Office for Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister's office has since worked with the interior ministry, the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute to come up with details, officials said. Credit card points will be the first to be allowed for the conversion. Accumulated card points amount to 2.1 trillion won ($1.57 billion) and such points already have well-established systems for conversion into cash, officials said. Once the conversion service begins in May, card users can use "account info" or "regional c

The Korean government said Friday that Google has complied with security requirements imposed as a condition for allowing the transfer of high-precision map data overseas. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said a government-led consultation body reviewed Google's implementation of security measures following its conditional approval in February to export 1:5,000-scale digital map data. The review found that the global tech giant had implemented measures to prevent the exposure of geographic coordinates, as well as sensitive military and security facilities, on its global Google Maps and Google Earth services, including web and mobile platforms. To meet the requirements, Google developed a dedicated control system for Korea and introduced safeguards to block app updates if they risk exposing restricted geographic coordinates. In August, Google also signed an agreement to obtain satellite imagery processed for security purposes by the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) through a local partner. Google is said to have chosen the local navigation company, TMAP Mo

A global Microsoft outage disrupted operations at major Korean companies on Friday, leaving some employees unable to access emails, coordinate with business partners and manage daily workflows as the tech giant struggled to restore its systems. The disruption affected multiple Microsoft services, including its Outlook email, parts of its Teams messaging app, Microsoft 365 productivity tools and Copilot artificial intelligence (AI) assistant. While the impact varied by company depending on the services used, some employees were forced to postpone work or turn to alternative communication channels. Some major companies sent urgent companywide notices alerting employees about the outage and asking them to check which Microsoft services were affected. Some companies also circulated email notices identifying services that were unavailable. An information technology (IT) industry official said employees had turned to other messaging apps to keep some work moving but the workaround offered only limited relief. “Since we cannot use email, we are exchanging files through messaging apps. But some

Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan has secured a one-year extension of his term, becoming the first among the heads of Korea's five major commercial banks whose terms expire at the end of this year to win another term. Woori Financial Group said Friday that its subsidiary CEO recommendation committee decided to recommend Jung for an additional year, extending his term through Dec. 31, 2027. His reappointment is subject to final approval at a shareholders' meeting scheduled for later this month. Jung was initially appointed in November 2024 for a two-year term, with the possibility of a one-year extension based on his performance. Announcing the recommendation results, Woori Financial pointed to his efforts to strengthen the bank's capital position, expand its digital platform businesses and advance inclusive finance initiatives during his tenure. In particular, the group said Jung had raised Woori Bank's common equity Tier 1 capital ratio — which lagged behind those of rival lenders when he took office — to the second-highest level among commercial banks. Woori Financial also cited his effort

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said Friday it has agreed to expand cooperation with Indonesia's state-run aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in the field of aviation, including KF-21 fighter jet production. KAI and PTDI signed three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) covering the KF-21 fighter jet, flight simulators and commercial aircraft on the sidelines of the 12th Korea-Indonesia Defense Industry Cooperation Committee meeting held in Jakarta on Wednesday. Under the KF-21 agreement, the two companies will explore cooperation on manufacturing aircraft components in Indonesia, including three types of structural components, with PTDI participating in the production process. Indonesia has maintained close defense industry ties with KAI, having purchased the company's KT-1 basic trainer aircraft and T-50 advanced trainer jets. The Southeast Asian country has also participated as an international partner in the joint development of the KF-21 fighter jet. KAI has exported 20 KT-1B trainer aircraft to Indonesia and signed a contract to extend their service life. It has a