The influence-peddling scandal shadowing South Korean President Park Geun-hye is raising fresh questions about decades of cozy ties between the nation's big conglomerates and those in power.

Sony (China) has signed a binding definitive agreement to transfer to Shen Zhen O-Film Tech all equity interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sony Electronics Huanan, which manufactures camera modules. The sales price is approximately US$95 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments.

Reporters from Reuters and the Nikkei Asian Review were denied access to a post-event group interview with Qualcomm executive chairman Paul Jacobs, to which only journalists from Taiwan's local press were invited.

South Korean prosecutors have raided the offices of Samsung Electronics as part of a probe into the political scandal around President Park Geun-hye.

The status of Samsung Electronics' light-emitting diode (LED) business has dramatically changed. The company's LED business was considered the first unit to sell until recently due to China's low-priced competitors. However, it recently succeeded in turning a profit and is strengthening its workforce.

A Canadian company is suing Sony in a Chinese court for alleged patent infringement, in a dispute that could establish the country as an important new venue for intellectual property cases.

A rather speculative KGI note suggests that Apple's focus on augmented reality (AR) instead of virtual reality (VR) will give the company a 3-5 year lead on the rest of the industry when it launches its first products. The report also suggests that Apple could use augmented reality as part of an autonomous driving system.

Apple captured an estimated 104% of total smartphone industry profits during Q3. How is this possible? Because the Android vendors were busy losing money.

Apple will not refresh the iPhone SE in the first half of 2017, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The lack of refresh comes as Apple attempts to maintain high margins on its high-end iPhone models, Kuo said in a new research note.

When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, one of the biggest and loudest skeptics was Steve Ballmer, who was CEO of Microsoft at the time.

Among its early backers are technology group Samsung, German engineer Bosch and Hermann Hauser, the founder of Cambridge-based chip designer ARM.

Zeiss SMT has been a supplier to ASML for 30 years. It makes lenses and other equipment needed to focus the energy beams ASML uses to help companies such as Intel and Samsung create the circuitry of semiconductor chips.

Massive government investment in China's semiconductor industry risks distorting the global market for integrated circuits, leading to damaging overcapacity and stifling innovation, US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker has warned.

Apple's granted patent 9,485,862 was filed in Q3 2014 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Marvell Technology said it plans to eliminate 900 jobs as part of a restructuring designed to narrow the chip maker's focus on more profitable businesses.

Tesla Motors has announced that all Tesla vehicles - Model S, Model X, and the upcoming Model 3 - will now be equipped with an on-board "supercomputer" that can provide full self-driving capability. This in-vehicle supercomputer is powered by the Nvidia DRIVE PX 2 AI computing platform.

Smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm, which agreed to buy NXP Semiconductors for about US$38 billion last week, reported a better-than-expected 13.3% rise in quarterly revenue, helped by strong demand, particularly in China.

The all-American iPhone may remain somewhat of a fantasy for now, but at least a few more of its internal chips could end up being manufactured on home turf.

Chipmaker Broadcom is nearing a deal to acquire network gear maker Brocade Communications Systems Inc in a deal that could be announced later this week, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

South Korea's exports fell in October because of problems at two of its biggest companies, with Samsung Electronics abandoning its trouble-plagued Galaxy Note 7 and Hyundai Motor suffering a lengthy labor strike.

Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn Technology Group, is making wireless charging modules to go with the iPhone's 10th anniversary range slated for release in 2017, according to an industry source familiar with the matter.

LG Electronics is not going to apply modularized structure for its next smartphone called 'G6 (tentative)' that is expected to be released in 2017. It is basically withdrawing its strategy of modularization that was first introduced to G5 in just a year.

Shares of touch-sensor technology maker Synaptics are down $13.93, or 21%, at $53.77, after the company yesterday afternoon reported fiscal Q1 revenue and profit that topped analysts' expectations, and also projected revenue this quarter above consensus, but missed with its gross profit result and forecast lower profit this quarter as well.

Despite the recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7, volumes were up 1.0% compared to 3Q15 when vendors shipped 359.3 million units.

The fund will have a size of about KRW200 billion (US$175.4 million), of which KRW50 billion will be financed by Samsung Electronics and KRW25 billion by SK Hynix.

Toshiba raised its forecast for first-half operating profit by 36% to JPY95 billion (US$906 million), crediting growth in memory chips and hard disk drives, as well as cost-cutting measures.

Sony and Panasonic, the Japanese electronics makers, have warned that profits would be hit by lower export income owing to the stronger yen and the retreat from lossmaking businesses.

Samsung Electronics said strength in its semiconductor business offset the impact to its mobile phone business caused by exploding batteries in its flagship Galaxy Note 7 products.

Texas Instruments said profit shot up 21% in the latest quarter as continued strong demand in the automotive and industrial sectors helped the chip maker report results just above its forecast.

The three new iPhone models to be launched next year are likely to sport glass backs supplied by China's Biel Crystal Manufactory and Lens Technology, an industry source told the Nikkei Asian Review.

It includes confidential information about Samsung's 14nm and 10nm fabrication processes.