PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Honda Motor (7267 JT) expects to pay as much as JPY 1.7tln in compensation to suppliers as it abandons development of three electric vehicles as part of an EV strategy reassessment
JAPAN
Fujikura (5803 JT) - Co. will invest up to JPY 300bln in Japan and the US to triple optical fibre cable production capacity in response to rising demand from artificial intelligence data centres. (Nikkei)
Honda Motor (7267 JT) - Co. expects to pay as much as JPY 1.7tln in compensation to suppliers as it abandons development of three electric vehicles as part of an EV strategy reassessment that could cost the company JPY 2.5tln in losses. (Nikkei)
Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Co. is set to begin trial sales of US-made Tundra pickups and Highlander SUVs in Japan next month in Tokyo, ahead of a nationwide rollout. (Nikkei)
Aviation - Japanese airlines and manufacturers face a profit hit if crude oil stays above USD 90/bbl, with Japan Airlines (9201 JT) estimating that costs will increase by more than JPY 10bln if the current oil price levels persist. (Nikkei)
Critical Minerals
Japan and the US are set to cooperate on handling supply disruptions of critical minerals. (Nikkei)
Other News
Japanese PM Takaichi heads to the US for a meeting with US President Trump, with discussions expected to include trade and Japan’s promised investments in the US. (Nikkei)
SOUTH KOREA
Samsung SDI (006400 KS) - Co. has won a KRW 1.5tln order to supply prismatic batteries for energy storage systems to a US energy company. (Newswires)
SK Hynix (000660 KS) - Co. invested KRW 6.7tln in research and development in 2025 amid rising demand for high bandwidth memory products driven by the artificial intelligence boom. (Yonhap)
Other News
South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan attended the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo and discussed ways to strengthen regional cooperation in energy and critical mineral supply chains. (Yonhap)
Honda's decision to abandon the development of three electric vehicles and the associated compensation of JPY 1.7 trillion to suppliers reflects a significant shift in its EV strategy amidst rising market challenges. This costly reassessment could impact investor sentiment and the company's competitiveness in the EV space, especially as competitors like Toyota continue to advance in the market.