AI-driven data centre expansion has pushed the memory market beyond traditional supply-demand cycles, creating a structural shortage that continues to deepen. Industry sources say the gap between spot and contract prices has widened to 40–50%, pressuring memory suppliers to raise contract prices in successive rounds to close the spread

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on March 2 and agreed to launch negotiations to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). The upgrade expands cooperation beyond traditional trade into artificial intelligence (AI), small modular reactors (SMR), space and satellite technology, and quantum science, reflecting a shift toward structured technology and energy collaboration

Volkswagen AG's "in China for China" strategy is facing an uphill battle in the market after less than six months, with the company now entering a fierce pricing war that has spread from the electric vehicle (EV) market to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and even dragging BMW and Mercedes-Benz into the crossfire

Hyundai Motor Group's Robotics LAB will showcase its CES Best of Innovation Award-winning mobile robot platform, Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobED), at Smart Factory &Automation World (AW) 2026, underscoring the rapid expansion of AI-driven and humanoid robotics in manufacturing. Held from March 4-6 at Coex in Seoul, AW 2026 is positioning itself beyond a traditional smart factory exhibition, reflecting the industry's accelerating shift toward AI-native production systems, intelligent logistics, and next-generation robotics

Renesas has named two senior executives to lead its businesses in India and China, moves the company says are intended to accelerate growth in those markets

Hiwin Technologies has spent more than a decade building direct manufacturing and service capacity in South Korea, evolving from component sales to integrated mechatronic solutions and becoming a preferred supplier as semiconductor upgrades and AI-related investment accelerate

Japan's state-backed chip venture Rapidus announced on February 27 that it has secured a total of JPY267.6 billion (about US$1.7 billion) in new funding from both government and private-sector investors, marking a key step in its push to mass-produce 2nm logic chips by 2027

Chinese suppliers at MWC 2026 are showcasing premium smartphones, AI-driven hardware, and vertically integrated ecosystems, signaling a strategic shift toward higher-end global competition and deeper control over key technologies

Japan's PC market began 2026 with an unexpected jolt, as shipments plunged at their fastest pace in 30 months, abruptly ending a 19-month streak of year-over-year growth and catching industry players off guard

South Korean fintech startup Softment is set to expand into Taiwan following rapid domestic growth, bringing its QR code and NFC-based ordering and payment solutions to the market. The company aims to capture the international tourism segment by offering multilingual menus, cross-border payment options, and seamless POS integration, enhancing both the customer experience and merchant efficiency

Germany's automotive giants—Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi (collectively known as BBA)—have engaged in aggressive price cuts in China's auto market, sparking fierce competition that has extended from electric vehicles (EVs) to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. This price war threatens the long-standing asset value preservation moat these German luxury brands have built over 30 years

Huawei and ByteDance have jointly unveiled a next-generation AI acceleration chip based on resistive random-access memory (RRAM), developed with Tsinghua University and other Beijing research institutions

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have notified customers of plans to raise DRAM prices in the second quarter of 2026 and have begun price negotiations, South Korean outlet SEDaily reports. Industry sources say the move reflects surging AI-driven demand and changing trading practices that favor large purchasers