PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Sony Group (6758 JT) increases share repurchase programme to a maximum of JPY 250bln from JPY 150bln previously

Dentsu Group (4324 JT) – Co. to book a profit of about JPY 29.6bln from the sale of a Tokyo office building to Mitsubishi Estate for an undisclosed price. (Nikkei)

FUJIFILM Holdings (4901 JT) – Co. entered into a share transfer agreement to acquire ETG Global Information Technology Services Inc. on February 26, 2026. (Newswires)

Itochu (8001 JT) – Co. unit G.K. FMDI to launch a tender offer to acquire shares of Itochu-Shokuhin (2692 JT) and take the company private. (Newswires)

Mitsui & Co. (8031 JT) – Co. to provide a convertible loan to ACI Logistics, operator of Bangladesh’s largest supermarket chain Shwapno with over 800 stores nationwide. (Nikkei)

Mizuho Financial (8411 JT) – Co. plans to cut as many as 5k clerical positions over 10 years in Japan. (Newswires)

NEC (6701 JT) – Co. selected by Brazil’s Eletronet to modernise its optical backbone using Nokia (NOKIA FH) optical solutions. (Newswires)

NTT DATA (9613 JT) – Co. entered a multi-year strategic partnership with Ericsson (ERICB SS) to accelerate enterprise adoption of private 5G and edge AI use cases. (Newswires)

Nidec (6594 JT) – Founder Shigenobu Nagamori resigns as chairman emeritus. (Nikkei)

Sony Group (6758 JT) – Co. increases share repurchase programme to a maximum of JPY 250bln from JPY 150bln previously. (Newswires)

Rapidus – Japan to hold 10% voting rights in chipmaker with veto power. (Nikkei)

Lotte Corporation (004990 KS) - Co. unit Lotte Duty Free and Hyundai DF received approval to operate duty-free zones vacated by two retailers at Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. reclaimed the top spot in the global DRAM market in the fourth quarter of last year. (Yonhap)

Coupang (CPNG) - Co. Q4 (KRW) operating profit fell 97% Y/Y to 11.5bln, rev. rose 11% Y/Y to 12.8tln. (ChosunBiz)

Agriculture – Agriculture ministry says it will supply 100,000 tons of rice from reserves to help stabilise soaring prices sparked by a supply shortage. (Yonhap)

Geopolitical – White House said US President Trump remains open to dialogue with North Korean leader Kim without any preconditions. (Yonhap)