PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Anthropic is reportedly in talks with Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) to manufacture a custom AI chip

AUSTRALIA

PEXA Group (PXA AT) - Co. said the draft proposal includes an approximately 20% cut in the exchange revenue requirement and will emphasise that phasing any price reduction over four years is critical to its ability to appropriately manage the business. (Bloomberg)

Suncorp Group (SUN AT) - Co. expects FY27 reinsurance costs to be higher than FY26, FY26 investment income of AUD 750-800mln and natural hazard costs AUD 250mln above allowance, while CEO Steve Johnston will return from medical leave on July 6. (Newswires)

Vault Minerals (VAU AT) - Co. said FY-end cash and bullion totalled AUD 842mln, Q4 underlying free cash flow was AUD 219mln, and underground development at Sugar Zone has commenced. (Bloomberg)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

Avita Medical (AVH AT) - Downgraded to Hold from Speculative Buy at Morgans.

Fortescue (FMG AT) - Downgraded to Sell from Neutral, price target cut 11% to AUD 16.90/shr at Goldman Sachs.

JAPAN

Asahi Kasei (3407 JP) - Co. will build a semiconductor package substrate material processing plant in Taiwan, increasing its local capacity by 40% to meet AI chip demand. (Nikkei)

Dentsu Group (4324 JP) - Co. has finalised plans to take subsidiary Dentsu Soken private, with Fujitsu and a trading house expected to invest around USD 1.2bln. (Nikkei)

SBI Holdings (8473 JP) - Co. announced a FY year-end dividend of JPY 75/shr, compared with JPY 140/shr a year ago. (S&P Capital IQ)

Sumitomo Corporation (8053 JP) - Co.-backed Phoenix Tailings is expanding its Asia network to support its US rare-earth processing ambitions ahead of planned operations in 2028. (Nikkei)

Unicharm (8113 JP) - Co. will enter India's pet care market through partnerships with local companies, offering a value-added product lineup targeting growing pet ownership. (Nikkei)

Other News

• India and Japan unveiled their first defence codevelopment pact and agreed to expand cooperation across AI, technology, economic and energy security. (Nikkei) 
• The Japanese government will launch a pilot program using smaller ground transport companies to collect electronic waste as part of a broader initiative to recycle rare metals. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Anthropic is reportedly in talks with Samsung (005930 KS) to manufacture a custom AI chip. (The Information)

Tech

South Korean President Lee pledged to turn the Chungcheong provinces into a global hub for AI-led innovation through government support for large-scale facility investment. (Yonhap)

South Korea is considering a KRW 5tln sovereign AI push alongside windfall taxes. (Yonhap)

Other News

US official alleged South Korea is singling out Coupang (CPNG US), raising concerns over what Washington called discriminatory targeting of the US-listed firm. (Yonhap)

South Korea will provide KRW 14.9tln in support for smaller firms impacted by the weak won. (Yonhap)