Industry

Energy costs added to supply price linkage, but effectiveness for chip materials, parts and equipment firms questioned

Electricity and gas bills paid by South Korean semiconductor materials, parts and equipment firms will be included in the supply-price linkage scheme from Dec. 3. The government introduced the move alongside a 5 trillion won semiconductor fund to channel large-company investment gains to smaller suppliers. Critics say the requirement that costs exceed 10 percent of supply payments and opt-out clauses by agreement may limit price pass-through. A budget office said results so far are hard to verify.

Crypto

Bank of England tests trade finance payments using stablecoins and digital pound

The Bank of England is testing a payments structure that uses stablecoins and a simulated digital pound in cross-border trade finance. The trial, run at its Digital Pound Lab, is designed to check whether stablecoin payments and digital pound settlement can work in a single flow. It uses no real customer funds. The central bank said the exercise does not signal future policy direction or endorse any company or product, and it has not decided whether to issue a digital pound.