Baidu Approves $5 Billion Share Buyback and Plans First-Ever Dividend in 2026 
South Korea’s Weak Won Struggles as Retail Investors Pour Money Into U.S. Stocks 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
Alphabet’s Massive AI Spending Surge Signals Confidence in Google’s Growth Engine 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
Nintendo Shares Slide After Earnings Miss Raises Switch 2 Margin Concerns 
Instagram Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Users 
TSMC Eyes 3nm Chip Production in Japan with $17 Billion Kumamoto Investment 
U.S. Stock Futures Slide as Tech Rout Deepens on Amazon Capex Shock 
Asian Markets Slip as AI Spending Fears Shake Tech, Wall Street Futures Rebound 
Amazon Stock Rebounds After Earnings as $200B Capex Plan Sparks AI Spending Debate 
Gold and Silver Prices Slide as Dollar Strength and Easing Tensions Weigh on Metals 
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports 
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target 
Silver Prices Plunge in Asian Trade as Dollar Strength Triggers Fresh Precious Metals Sell-Off 
SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off 
FDA Targets Hims & Hers Over $49 Weight-Loss Pill, Raising Legal and Safety Concerns 
SM Entertainment is building an office in Singapore, which will serve as its headquarters in Southeast Asia. the South Korean entertainment company will also be opening retail stores in the said country as part of its expansion plans there.
SM Entertainment also confirmed that its job hiring in the region has already started. As per CNBC, the company refused to disclose how much it is spending on this expansion project but said shared it is in the midst of recruiting more local talents. It is also looking for local fresh graduates or undergraduates for internship roles.
In addition, the entertainment firm that is also home to popular Kpop groups, including Super Junior, TVXQ, EXO, SHINEE, and Red Velvet, is also launching its retail business in Singapore. For this, it will open several stores such as cafes, pop-up exhibitions, and shops for merchandise.
Once it establishes its Southeast Asian HQ and retail business in the territory, SM Entertainment plans to gradually expand to other countries and operate in more expansive continents, including the Middle East.
The Seoul-based company is one of the leading brands in the entertainment scene in South Korea, and it has already opened a branch in Indonesia. This unit is performing well, and in fact, some of its artists were featured in endorsements after winning partnership deals with local brands such as Mie Sedaap and Sasa for Super Junior member, Choi Siwon, and Lemonilo and Somethinc for NCT Dream.
At any rate, last month, the company’s founder, Lee Soo Man, said that he is also interested in forming a Kpop group in the region and will be called NCT Singapore. He also wants to create new groups or subunits of its NCT boy band, and these will be the NCT Saudi and NCT Tokyo. But while he mentioned these ambitions, it is not clear if plans are being carried out already.
Finally, in a report, SM Entertainment revealed that its new Singapore headquarters would also be managing collaborative projects and businesses in three other Southeast Asian countries, which are Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. The office will be working with the HQ in South Korea for all the projects and for the implementation of plans for the region.
