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Alpha in Asia

Alpha In Asia publishes two weekly newsletters on Korea, Japan, and East Asia: Weekly Supply Chain in Asia and Weekly Anime & Game in Asia. Each one follows the same set of themes week after week, so changes can be traced across issues.

About RSS feed Supply Chain on Substack @alphainasia on X @alphainasia on YouTube Anime & Game on Substack @alphainasiagame on X @alphainasiagame on YouTube

The latest issue of each newsletter is on Substack; earlier issues are archived here about one week later, with corrections applied.

Issues usually go out Tuesday and Thursday, but timing can slip — sometimes over the weekend.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia @ Substack

Showing 2 of 23 posts.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W41 (2026-10-03~2026-10-09)

Samsung Electronics posted a record **KRW 107.4 trillion** third-quarter operating profit, and Solidigm, SK hynix's NAND unit, picked lead underwriters for a possible US listing. LG Energy Solution signed for Canadian lithium and is building sodium-ion lines in China and Korea, while LS Electric won a North American data-center transformer order and signed to form a joint venture in Taiwan. Samsung Heavy Industries reached 20 LNG carrier orders for the year, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries teamed up with a Croatian yard for a corvette program.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W38 (2026-09-10~2026-09-16)

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering is pushing ahead with a greenfield shipyard in India, Hanwha Ocean unveiled a floating data center model, and South Korea’s naphtha imports shifted from the UAE to Algeria as the Strait of Hormuz stayed constrained. On the risk side, AI data center operators are turning to captive insurance, and a revised privacy law raised the penalty ceiling Tving now faces.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W37 (2026-09-03~2026-09-09)

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry asked for **JPY 7.7859T** for fiscal 2027, with its key allocations aimed at AI, semiconductors and robotics and at securing critical minerals, while Hungary moved to fine repeat environmental offenders at least **0.5% of annual net sales**. One number buys a domestic industrial base; the other sets what it costs to operate on someone else’s soil. For East Asian manufacturers, environmental and security rules are no longer hurdles cleared before the real work starts — they are becoming the input that decides where a plant goes and what it costs to run. Samsung SDI and SK On are turning North American capacity toward grid storage. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NEC are building a defense command stack that integrates defense equipment with the cloud, aiming to keep Japan’s defense data and AI under domestic control.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W36 (2026-08-27~2026-09-02)

Korean firms are expanding U.S. production bases as Washington restricts foreign power equipment and tightens clean energy tax credits, and a Korean defense delegation heads to Estonia to discuss cooperation beyond existing weapons systems. As South Korea’s national debt-to-GDP ratio improves on the back of chip-linked tax revenue, the economy faces a structural paradox: fiscal stability is currently leveraged on a cyclical upcycle, creating a "denominator effect" where the debt-to-GDP ratio improves because the GDP—the denominator—is inflated by semiconductor-linked growth, leaving little room for error should the semiconductor market enter a downturn.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W35 (2026-08-20~2026-08-26)

Three East Asian firms moved this week to put production or software inside the markets they sell to. The clearest cases are in defense and energy: Hanwha Aerospace has leased a plant in Alabama and plans to invest in a local howitzer supply chain to work its way into the American defense industrial base, while Mitsubishi Electric is buying the software layer around its hardware in the American power grid and LS ELECTRIC is forming an HVDC joint venture for the Korean power grid. Regulatory pressure is pushing in the same direction. The escalating U.S.-Canada tariff war is already forcing Korean automakers and battery makers to redesign supply chains built around the old, tariff-light North American arrangement.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W34 (2026-08-13~2026-08-19)

The U.S.-Japan joint currency intervention, launched after the yen neared 164 per dollar, marks a return to coordinated financial policy. The White House plans AI-based analysis to strengthen transshipment enforcement, while Beijing's energy diagnostic for 1,839 manufacturers can reveal power use per process to some degree, raising the question of how much manufacturing information is exposed. Fiscal policy featured too: China will tax lithium batteries from September.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W33 (2026-08-06~2026-08-12)

This week, the United States Department of Commerce finalized export restrictions on tungsten waste and black mass, while President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 15% tariff and price floors on polysilicon. By requiring US suppliers of tungsten waste and black mass to sell to the domestic market, the restriction could encourage investment in US refining facilities. Major industrial players are also changing where they put capital. From Amkor Technology, a US-based semiconductor packaging and test provider, and SK Hynix, South Korea's second-largest chipmaker, reviewing the divestment of their Chinese semiconductor packaging operations, with Amkor planning to put the proceeds toward US packaging capacity, to the UAE evaluating an east coast LNG facility to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, firms in semiconductors, energy, and defense each reconsidered where their capital sits this week.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W32 (2026-07-30~2026-08-05)

Seoul's 2026 Tax Reform Plan pays firms for output rather than for spending. The plan's Domestic Production Tax Credit covers six strategic industries, including semiconductors and secondary batteries, and ties the credit to production volume instead of capital expenditure. A regional coefficient of up to 1.5x pushes that production away from the capital region. Separately, Hyundai Motor's new 'Neira' electric SUV targets roughly 80% local content in Indonesia — a level Jakarta will not require until 2030 — while in India its battery-cell localization project with Exide Industries has slipped past fiscal 2027.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W30 (2026-07-16~2026-07-22)

Firms from Hyosung Heavy Industries to HL Group deepened their presence in their main overseas markets this week, while an automotive outlook forecast a move from globalization to regionalization. As data centers and AI-defined vehicles (AIDV) compete for the same high-performance semiconductor capacity, the resulting "memory famine" is forcing a price-pass-through mechanism that is reshaping consumer electronics. Whether through Japan's FRONTia project, South Korea's Won Internationalization Roadmap, or localized manufacturing in the U.S. and India, governments and firms moved to build capability at home.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W29 (2026-07-09~2026-07-15)

The fragmentation of global supply chains is accelerating as East Asian firms aggressively pivot toward regionalized, non-Chinese networks to secure critical materials and defense autonomy. Tungsten concentrate is being processed in Vietnam rather than China, and battery cathode production is being localized in Europe. As geopolitical chokepoints in the Middle East and beyond create immediate supply shocks and systemic inventory clogging, the financialization of these risks—through thematic ETFs and alternative credit models—is creating new systemic pressures for retail investors and market stability.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W28 (2026-07-02~2026-07-08)

The inclusion of AI subscription fees in the Consumer Price Index and the expansion of corporate AI projects defined this week's landscape. As South Korea and Japan navigate the intersection of digital service inflation and a resource-centered shift in industry, AI has entered deeply into the consumption landscape of Korean households. This shift is accompanied by a defensive posture in financial markets, where corporate entities and governments are deploying tactical buffers to manage the volatility of currency, energy, and regulatory environments.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W27 (2026-06-25~2026-07-01)

Samsung Group and SK Group laid out long-term domestic investment plans that, together with the government's announced amounts, approach KRW 5 quadrillion this week, aligned with the government's "5-pole 3-special" regional development strategy for semiconductors, AI, and energy infrastructure. Elsewhere, South Korea is preparing a 24-hour foreign exchange market, and Samsung C&T is working on feasibility studies for small modular reactors in Poland.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W25 (2026-06-11~2026-06-17)

This week, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics intensified their global hunt for AI expertise, signaling a move beyond chip manufacturing to deeper integration in AI systems and physical robotics. Meanwhile, the semiconductor sector itself is undergoing a seismic shift: memory chips are now performance-defining powerhouses, not mere storage, as evidenced by soaring profits. Global players like TSMC solidify their foundry dominance, while emerging Chinese firms like YMTC aggressively challenge established NAND leaders.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W23 (2026-05-28~2026-06-03)

This week's AI infrastructure news ranged from SoftBank Group's investment of up to EUR 75 billion in French data centers to Nvidia's deepening "K-Alliance" in South Korea, extending beyond semiconductors into robotics and cloud ecosystems. Meanwhile, the semiconductor sector itself remains a focal point, with Samsung Electronics shipping HBM4E samples and TSMC reportedly reviewing price increases that could open room for rivals.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W21 (2026-05-17~2026-05-23)

East Asia's semiconductor titans are locked in an intense race for AI memory dominance, pouring billions into R&D and capacity expansion. This week, Samsung and SK Hynix signaled their commitment with significant R&D spending surges and accelerated fab buildouts, aiming to secure leadership in next-generation technologies like HBM. However, this relentless pursuit of market share is not without its friction. Internal labor disputes, particularly at Samsung, are testing corporate unity and profit-sharing models, while global competitors like Micron actively seek to poach critical AI memory talent. Meanwhile, the broader semiconductor ecosystem grapples with rising costs and supply chain pressures, even as advancements in foundry technology and packaging promise to unlock new frontiers in AI chip performance.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W20 (2026-05-10~2026-05-16)

East Asia's entrenched dominance in AI hardware is undeniable, yet this week's developments paint a picture of a sector grappling with unprecedented complexity and systemic pressures. Giants like TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix remain central to the global AI revolution, but they are increasingly navigating a dense web of supply chain constraints, intense competition, and evolving geopolitical currents. The region's structural advantage, forged through decades of targeted industrial policy and manufacturing scale, is now being tested by the very AI demand it helps to satisfy. This week highlighted critical bottlenecks in advanced packaging and materials, alongside strategic responses ranging from joint ventures and overseas R&D to navigating international trade shifts. The core tension lies in leveraging existing scale while adapting to fragilities—a delicate balance that is paramount to understanding the future trajectory of AI development and East Asia's pivotal role within it.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W19 (2026-05-03~2026-05-09)

East Asia's AI hardware race is entering a new, more complex phase. This week, the region's tech giants are navigating a landscape where US trade policy is increasingly defined by "power" rather than "rules," creating a dual environment of heightened risk and significant opportunity. While global geopolitical currents shift, the core of East Asia's strategy remains clear: an aggressive, coordinated push to dominate the AI hardware ecosystem, from foundational components to advanced chip architectures. This week's coverage underscores that this is not merely about manufacturing capacity, but a deliberate, multi-pronged effort involving industrial policy, cross-border alliances, and intense R&D investment, all aimed at shaping the future of AI technology amidst unpredictable global dynamics.

Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W18 (2026-04-26~2026-05-02)

East Asia's reign in AI hardware is undeniable, but this week underscored the intricate challenges accompanying that dominance. South Korea's export figures hit historic highs, propelled by the relentless global appetite for AI memory chips, with SK Hynix showcasing remarkable performance and market value gains. However, this success story is increasingly shadowed by tightening memory supply chains, escalating component costs, and simmering labor disputes within critical manufacturing sectors. Simultaneously, the region's industrial titans are strategically adapting: Hyundai Motor Group is doubling down on AI and software integration for its vehicles, while tech giants like Google scout for deeper partnerships. This period highlights a dynamic tension between scaling established strengths and navigating new frontiers, from advanced materials to global digital content, showcasing East Asia's ongoing, complex evolution where dominance is hard-won and constantly tested.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia @ Substack

Showing 2 of 23 posts.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W41 (2026-10-03~2026-10-09)

NCSOFT's Aion 2 reached a Steam peak of nearly 400,000 concurrent players after its full global launch, and Amazon Games set the dates for handing Throne and Liberty's Western service to NCSOFT. Nexon signed with Chernin Entertainment to adapt ARC Raiders and THE FINALS for film and television, and Shinsegae is putting USD 1 billion into the Warner Bros. acquisition. Sony introduced an AI upscaler for the standard PS5, and Steam access problems in Vietnam spread to downloads and updates.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W37 (2026-09-01~2026-09-07)

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), China's regulator for commercial game operations, issued publishing licenses—known as banhao—to three titles utilizing South Korean intellectual property this week. The *Seal Online* title is being developed under a contract with China's Kaiying Network. Krafton, meanwhile, discussed raising cumulative direct investment in India to **USD 500M** and is running its own talent pipeline there. Elsewhere, Game File reports that roughly 80% of Bit Reactor's development staff are on unpaid leave; separately, its co-founders contest ownership of the studio in court.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W36 (2026-08-25~2026-08-31)

Sony Music Entertainment’s acquisition of a **22.93% stake** in GungHo Online Entertainment for **JPY 28.6 billion** makes Sony Music GungHo's largest shareholder, with the two agreeing to co-develop mobile, console, and PC titles. The Pokémon Company International appointed a new creative director for Pokémon art and design, and Google Play set new technical performance standards for mobile games from February 2027.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W35 (2026-08-18~2026-08-24)

WEBTOON Entertainment is acquiring the studios that will build games on its IP, and Kakao Entertainment is folding three subsidiaries into one. Separately, Bain & Company's latest industry survey finds that the top 20% of players now account for 60% of playtime and over 70% of spending. Roblox, meanwhile, has lost about USD 70 billion in market value from its peak after its retreat from aggressive monetization, as public equity markets punished the drop in short-term growth even while the platform chased longer-term retention.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W33 (2026-08-04~2026-08-10)

Square Enix Holdings, the Japanese publisher behind the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises, reported a 172.4% year-on-year increase in ordinary profit to JPY 18.766 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. Growth came from console titles such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and from mobile and service revenue. Elsewhere, Gravity is building a Ragnarok platform business through joint ventures in Southeast Asia, and a publisher's analysis of Steam's Discovery Queue suggested visibility may depend on how fast wishlists arrive.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W32 (2026-07-28~2026-08-03)

Sony Group’s confirmation that it will cease physical game disc production for new PlayStation titles by January 2028 marks a definitive pivot toward a digital-only ecosystem. The move maximizes margins by eliminating physical overhead, and it puts back in play a question the disc used to answer: what a buyer still holds once a storefront or a licence lapses. The same week offered a blunt reminder of what that pivot costs further down the market: Ambition, a Japanese mobile developer under a court-ordered preservation management order, shut down *Bungo Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost* on July 31 and told players it would not refund their unused paid currency. Both poles turn on the same question — who still controls a work once the money has changed hands.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W31 (2026-07-21~2026-07-27)

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced on July 1, 2026, that it will cease physical disc production for new PlayStation games released from January 2028. This decision follows a period where physical copies accounted for only 15% of PS5/PS4 game unit sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Marvel also announced a manga partnership with Kadokawa as Shueisha's Marvel manga contract ends on September 30, and Gameloft dissolved its Japanese subsidiary without giving a public reason.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W30 (2026-07-14~2026-07-20)

The biggest sales milestone in games this week belonged to Ubisoft, and the release helping push it there was a revival rather than a new entry. Several of the week's other announcements were also expansions, remasters, or adaptations of existing franchises. From the player's side it reads differently — this year's marquee names are arriving as expansions, remasters, and anime adaptations rather than as new worlds. In Japan, the Freelance Act is pushing work away from direct freelance contracts.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W29 (2026-07-07~2026-07-13)

Microsoft's ZeniMax restructuring, part of Xbox cuts of about 3,200 positions and four studio closures by fiscal year 2027, follows a period in which Game Pass lost subscribers after a price increase. Separately, Alinea Analytics reported that Steam's 2026 H1 revenue reached USD 11.1B, up 14.5% year over year, with new releases accounting for only 21% of it. Cygames moved a long-running project to Unreal Engine 5, CyberAgent is building a shared rendering system on Unity, and CRI Middleware added Godot support.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W27 (2026-06-23~2026-06-29)

Krafton has appointed Jang Tae-seok, a central architect of the global success of PUBG: Battlegrounds, as the new head of group-wide publishing, following the departure of Chief Global Publishing Officer Oh Jin-ho. Simultaneously, Nexon has launched a KRW 250 billion joint public-private fund in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Kona Venture Partners to support early-stage game developers. Elsewhere, Arc System Works and Cygames announced Nintendo Switch 2 versions of existing titles, Capcom used its RE ENGINE to bring a Nintendo DS series to modern platforms, and a Joker anime arrived with a simultaneous manga tie-in.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W21 (2026-05-17~2026-05-23)

The past week in East Asian entertainment culture showcased a robust ecosystem adept at deepening fan engagement and navigating industry pressures. While major game launches were not the headline, established IPs continued to expand their reach through strategic merchandise and character reveals, with **Final Fantasy IX** offering a Vivi-themed deck box and **Blue Archive** generating significant buzz around the introduction of Erika Hatami. The anime sector, however, faced ongoing financial headwinds, with reports highlighting the persistent challenge of balancing rising production costs against revenue generation, even with strong international distribution. This period underscores the industry's multifaceted approach: leveraging beloved characters and practical merchandise to sustain engagement, while confronting the economic realities of content creation.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W20 (2026-05-10~2026-05-16)

This week's East Asian entertainment news highlights a pivotal hardware transition and the enduring strength of established IPs. Nintendo's president hinted at a robust software pipeline for the upcoming Switch 2, a strategy reinforced by the confirmation of FromSoftware's 'The Duskbloods' as a console exclusive, signaling a significant console generation shift. Concurrently, franchises across Japan and Korea demonstrated their market relevance: Bandai Namco detailed future Gundam directions, Konami reported strong sales for its Silent Hill titles, and Level Infinite and Shift Up leveraged character merchandising for 'Goddess of Victory: NIKKE.' These developments underscore how legacy IPs continue to drive regional market engagement and adapt to evolving player expectations.

Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W18 (2026-04-26~2026-05-02)

This week's East Asian entertainment landscape underscores a powerful, enduring strategy: the creative monetization of beloved Intellectual Property. From niche genre explorations in gaming to expansive merchandise lines and cross-industry collaborations, companies are demonstrating remarkable agility in transforming established characters and stories into diverse revenue streams. FuRyu's continued investment in the 'dark bishōjo' action roguelike genre with 'Crymelight,' alongside Nintendo's Kirby franchise leveraging apparel and accessories, exemplifies how IP is not just a product but a versatile engine for cultural and commercial expansion. This week's news highlights how East Asian creators are adept at tapping into deep fandoms, whether through new anime seasons, classic manga adaptations, or innovative collectible formats, reinforcing the region's position as a global powerhouse in entertainment IP.

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