PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: China's Commerce Ministry announced an anti-dumping probe into Japan's dichlorosilane imports, which is a key chipmaking chemical

ABC-Mart (2670 JT) - Co. 9-month (JPY) profit attributable to owners of parent fell 1.3% Y/Y to 33.7bln, net sales rose 0.8% Y/Y to 279.3bln. (TipRanks)

Shin-Etsu (4063 JT) - Co. eyes AI chip demand with new back-end fabrication tech. (Nikkei)

Skylark Holdings (3197 JT) - Co. said same-store sales are progressing above guidance and Y/Y decline in customer numbers is transitory. (Skylark)

China's Commerce Ministry announced an anti-dumping probe into Japan's dichlorosilane imports, which is a key chipmaking chemical, while the investigation began on January 7th and will end a year later, but can be extended by 6 months if needed. (Newswires)

Japan protested China's operation of mobile drilling rigs in waters on the Chinese side of the Japan-China median line in the East China Sea. (Nikkei)

HD Hyundai Marine Solution (443060 KS) - KKR (KKR) is to sell a 4.1% stake in the Co. through a block deal worth KRW 310bln. (Newswires)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. prelim. Q4 (KRW) oper. profit 20.0tln (exp. 17.8tln), rev. 93.0tln (exp. 91.0tln). (Newswires)

Other News - South Korean prosecutors have sought a warrant for the chairman of private equity firm MBK Partners, Kim Byung-ju, to question him over the management of troubled retailer Homeplus. (Yonhap)