Baidu Approves $5 Billion Share Buyback and Plans First-Ever Dividend in 2026 
Hims & Hers Halts Compounded Semaglutide Pill After FDA Warning 
CK Hutchison Launches Arbitration After Panama Court Revokes Canal Port Licences 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
TSMC Eyes 3nm Chip Production in Japan with $17 Billion Kumamoto Investment 
Oil Prices Slide on US-Iran Talks, Dollar Strength and Profit-Taking Pressure 
Nvidia Nears $20 Billion OpenAI Investment as AI Funding Race Intensifies 
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates 
Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality 
South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom 
Ford and Geely Explore Strategic Manufacturing Partnership in Europe 
SpaceX Reports $8 Billion Profit as IPO Plans and Starlink Growth Fuel Valuation Buzz 
Fed Governor Lisa Cook Warns Inflation Risks Remain as Rates Stay Steady 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
Prudential Financial Reports Higher Q4 Profit on Strong Underwriting and Investment Gains 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) is investing $600 billion in building a “mother” production line, where it will manage the entire process of designing and implementing technological applications for next-generation products, such as pouch cells.
The process for pouch cells will include not only testing but also verification stages for mass production.
The mother line will be located in its main battery manufacturing complex in Ochang.
LGES, which is ramping up production capabilities to meet surging global demand, announced a 4 trillion-won plan in December last year to expand its Ochang complex by 2026.
The construction of the mother line is set to be completed in December 2024.
The latest move comes as battery makers are bolstering facility investments to respond to the burgeoning demand for EV batteries.
It is also part of efforts to qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act, which gives subsidies to EVs made under stricter conditions.
LGES is spending 580 billion won to build a separate mother line for a next-generation 46-millimeter-diameter cylindrical cell.
