LG Electronics Inc. readies to incorporate the Internet of Things (IoT) technology into its every home appliance from next year, jumping on the IoT bandwagon as part of efforts to stay competitive in the fast changing and growing IoT industry.

According to the electronics industry Tuesday, the firm plans to enable Wi-Fi access and voice and image recognition based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology in its home gadgets to be launched next year.

The company has already set up a new unit solely dedicated to AI within its Home Appliance & Air Solution (H&A) department. It has also relocated H&A Smart Solution business division in charge of the IoT solution from its headquarters to Gasan Research & Development (R&D) center in western Seoul to foster more efficient communication and cooperation between its IoT unit and home appliance R&D team.

A company official at LG explained that the company hopes that its latest decision to reinforce its home appliances with the IoT technology helps it to win the lead in the burgeoning IoT market. He added that every appliance to be rolled out next year would be controlled by a smartphone.

A WiFi-enabled home appliance to be controlled by a smartphone will not only be convenient to use but also slicker and simpler in design, as a large screen or operation panel packed with many buttons, switches and dials would be eliminated.

LG is also reviewing a plan to develop AI-powered robots that would complement its connected home services. Its H&A department announced in a statement in September that it was preparing to set up a robot development team and working to introduce AIpowered robots.

In a move to accelerate such efforts, the Korean electronics giant has been reforming the company’s organization to allow its IoT units such as a cloud center and intelligent research center to work closely for the project.

Shares of LG on Wednesday ended at 47,400 won ($41.22), up 0.11 percent, or 50 won, from the previous session.

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The world’s top chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co.

announced that it would be ramping up output from fourth-generation 14-nanometer (nm) process (14LPU) and the third-generation 10nm process (10LPU), a move that will help the company maintain unrivalled lead in the chip industry with rising demand for highperformance chips for mobile and smart consumer devices.

Samsung Electronics has begun mass-producing chips using 14-nanometer fine technology last year and further raised the bar by becoming in October the first to employ 10-nanometer, which previously had been considered the manufacturing end for the silicon.
Nanometer technology is synonym for chip generation.
The smaller the number, the more transistors could fit on the chip and making it more powerful.

The company held the Samsung Foundry Forum for its semiconductor consignment production clients and partners at its Device Solutions America headquarters in the U.S. on Thursday (local time) and announced that it was expanding production from its next-generation fabs that would allow greater yield of power-saving high-performance chips.

Process design kits for 14LPU and 10LPU process technologies will be available in the second quarter of next year.

The fourth-generation14LPU delivers higher performance at the same power and design compared to the previous third-generation 14nm process (14LPC), and it is suitable for devices requiring highperformance and compute-intensive applications. The third-generation 10LPU offers the same performance level as the previous generations 10LPE and 10LPP while using smaller area. Samsung Electronics shares closed Thursday at 1,616,000 won, down 27,000 won or 1.64 percent from the previous session.

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The shipments of 8K televisions are expected to reach close to the one million mark within five years. HIS Technology, recently, said that about 2,700 8K TVs are expected to come into the global market this year but the number would increase to 911,000 units by 2019. Once trial broadcasting of Japan starts in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, demand for these TVs would surge.

The research firm predicted that the fate of the 8K TV market would entirely hinge on how much the large screen TV market would grow. TV resolution has evolved from HD with 1,366×768 resolution, to FHD with 1,920×1, 080, UHD with 3,840×2, 160, and 8K with 7,680x 4,320.

DisplaySearch forecasts that 8K display panels will be introduced in the industry in full swing in 2018. Resolution grades typically have six-year cycles with HD from 2000 to 2006, FHD from 2006 to 2012, UHD from 2012 to 2018 and 8K starting from 2018. Thanks to the beginning of the era of 8K TVs, Korea’s display panel makers, including Samsung display and LG display, with strength in large screen production, would see new opportunities in a fresh market.

 
 
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South Korea’s potential growth is projected to be cut by more than 0.5 percentage points, due to the economy’s recent sharp loss of growth momentum. “Potential growth” refers to the extent to which an economy could raise gross domestic product using labor, capital and technology without causing inflation.

With the population aging, the working population has fallen and working hours have also contracted. On top of that, the pace of capital increase, on which production capacity hinges, has slowed and productivity has sharply declined. According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) and a host of think tanks recently, the nation’s potential growth dropped more than 0.5 percentage points compared to the initial estimate. The potential growth was estimated at 3.6 to 3.7 percent in 2013 but several research institutes including the central bank and t h e Korea Development Institute (KDI) have been cutting the estimates one after another. The KDI is said to have recently lowered the estimate of potential growth to around three percent.

The BOK has also been considering reducing the estimate of the potential growth, from the existing 3.6 percent level to a level between three percent and 3.5 percent.

The National Assembly Budget Office, an economic research institute under the National Assembly, and the Hyundai Research Institute, a private research center, predict the potential growth at between three percent and 3.5 percent. A researcher in the LG Economic Research Institute, explained, “As labor input has rapidly declined and productivity of the construction and manufacturing industries, which have thus far led the growth, has declined, far lower potential growth is inevitable.”.

 
 
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Hanwha Group recently announced its decision to building the nation’s largest photovoltaic cell plant. Hanwha Q CELLS Korea will invest 350 billion won ($314 million) to build a 1.5- gigawatt photovoltaic cell plant in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province.

The Jincheon plant, which is due for completion by late this year, will be the largest in the country. The photovoltaic cells produced at the plant will supply solar energy to the entire 2.5 million population of Daegu. The company said “the cell production plant will mark a cornerstone for Hanwha to branch out into the plant producing cells by shifting its focus from the downstream operations of the photovoltaic sector (photovoltaic power plant design, construction, operation ). ”

Meanwhile, Hanwha Q Cells, another unit of Hanwha Group, also recently released its plans to add a module plant with a 250 megawatts (MW) capacity in Eumsung, North Chungcheong Province, which will begin commercial production within this month. With an additional 250 MW plant, it will operate a total of 500 MW plants.

 
 
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Korea decided to expand large-scale bilateral economic cooperation with India after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Korea recently.

Korean President Park Geun-hye and the Indian premier recently had a summit meeting in Cheong Wa Dae and decided to elevate the bilateral relationship to a ‘special strategic partnership.’ The two countries entered into negotiations to improve their free trade agreement, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has been cited as an obstacle for trade due to lower tariff cuts between the two nations than those with rival countries like Japan.

Above all, Korea would provide a fi nancial package worth $10 billion for the ‘Made in India’ drive by the Indian prime minister to attract enormous investments and nurture the manufacturing industry.

The prime minister, who was in China before coming to Korea, promised investments worth $20 billion in various sectors including railroad construction, irrigation technology support and tourism cultural exchange.

The construction plans for infrastructure in India released by the presidential office on the day include the construction of 100 smart cities (a total of $15 billion with an average of $150 million by city), Delhi -Mumbai industrial corridor ($90 billion) and the construction of infrastructure for a high-speed railway ($140 billion over the next five years). The value of orders alone would amount to $200 billion. In particular, the Indian prime minister sincerely asked the Korean government and companies to construct a shipyard to build an LNG- carrier vessel during the summit with President Park.

 
 
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