Hana Raises ROE Target to 12%, Woori to Cancel 150 Billion Won in Buyback

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

1. "Almost There"…AMD Nears Formal HBM4 Contract With Samsung Electronics (005930)

- Key Summary: AMD is close to signing a formal contract with Samsung Electronics to supply large volumes of HBM4, its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory. AMD CEO Lisa Su answered "almost there" when asked about the state of negotiations with Samsung Electronics at the "AMD Advancing AI 2026" event held in San Francisco on the 23rd. AMD announced that day its plan to mass-produce the AI server rack system "Helios" at the end of the third quarter, in which Samsung Electronics' HBM4 will be featured. Executives including Samsung Electronics Foundry President Han Jin-man visited the site to continue formal contract discussions, it was reported.

2. Alternative Energy Demand Expectations Amid Middle East Re-escalation…Renewable ETFs Soar

- Key Summary: As tensions in the Middle East rose with the U.S. warning of attacks on Iran and Yemen's Houthi rebels, international oil prices surged, and returns on domestic renewable energy and crude oil ETFs also showed a sharp rise. According to the Korea Exchange, over the past week PLUS Solar & ESS rose 20.65%, recording the highest return among ETFs, while KODEX WTI Crude Oil Futures (H) also rose 15.54%. Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel on the 23rd, and Goldman Sachs raised the possibility of exceeding $120 per barrel in the fourth quarter. With military tensions between the U.S. and Iran showing signs of prolonging, volatility in related ETFs is expected to continue for some time.

3. Hana Raises ROE Target to 12%…Woori to Cancel 150 Billion Won in Treasury Shares

- Key Summary: Hana Financial Group decided to raise its return on equity (ROE) target from the previous level of 10% or more to 12% and to pursue a total shareholder return ratio of 50% or more. Hana Financial's second-quarter net profit was 1.1928 trillion won, up 1.7% from a year earlier, and its first-half net profit reached a record high of 2.4029 trillion won. Woori Financial also recorded second-quarter net profit of 1.0046 trillion won, recovering quarterly net profit above 1 trillion won, and announced a plan to additionally purchase and cancel 1.5 trillion won worth of treasury shares in the second half. As a result, the combined first-half net profit of the four major financial holding companies—KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori—reached a record high of 11.3392 trillion won.

4. Listed Companies Seeking Emergency Cash…Short-Term Borrowings Surge 40 Trillion Won in Q1

- Key Summary: Short-term borrowings of domestic listed companies increased by 40.6911 trillion won (10.2%) in the first quarter of this year alone. According to FnGuide, the short-term borrowings of 2,518 listed companies rose from 398.9563 trillion won at the end of last year to 439.6475 trillion won, and Naver's surged more than 17-fold from 132.2 billion won to 2.3262 trillion won. The trend is interpreted as companies increasing short-term funding through commercial paper (CP) and electronic short-term bonds instead of corporate bonds, as the gap between long- and short-term interest rates widened amid inflation concerns from rising international oil prices. Experts pointed out that for companies with continued industry downturns, an increase in short-term borrowings could develop into a liquidity risk.