{"id":72449,"date":"2026-09-30T21:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T01:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/asia-pacific-market-update-south-korea-unveils-nuclear-submarine-roadmap-paramount-skydance-prices-42b-debt\/72449\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T21:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T01:38:14","slug":"asia-pacific-market-update-south-korea-unveils-nuclear-submarine-roadmap-paramount-skydance-prices-42b-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/asia-pacific-market-update-south-korea-unveils-nuclear-submarine-roadmap-paramount-skydance-prices-42b-debt\/72449\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia-Pacific Market Update: South Korea Unveils Nuclear Submarine Roadmap; Paramount Skydance Prices $42B Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>South Korea<\/strong> has officially launched a strategic project to build and deploy its first <strong>nuclear-powered submarines<\/strong> by the mid-2030s, aiming for self-reliant defense against regional threats.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Paramount Skydance (<a href=\"\/stock\/PSKY\">PSKY<\/a>)<\/strong> priced a massive <strong>$42 billion debt package<\/strong>\u2014including $30 billion in first-lien notes\u2014to finance its landmark acquisition of <strong>Warner Bros. Discovery (<a href=\"\/stock\/WBD\">WBD<\/a>)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Australia\u2019s trade balance<\/strong> narrowed sharply to <strong>A$495 million<\/strong> in August, missing estimates of A$2,000 million as a 5.8% surge in imports outpaced a 3.7% rise in exports.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japan<\/strong> implemented a significant hike in residency-related fees for foreign nationals on October 1, with <strong>permanent residency fees<\/strong> jumping 20-fold to <strong>200,000 yen<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Xiaomi (<a href=\"\/stock\/1810\">1810<\/a>)<\/strong> reported that September EV deliveries topped <strong>40,000 units<\/strong>, marking a new monthly record as the company scales production of its SU7 and SkyNomad models.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>South Korea Targets Nuclear Submarine Fleet by 2030s<\/h2>\n<p>President <strong>Lee Jae-myung<\/strong> announced on Tuesday that South Korea will pursue the domestic construction of <strong>conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines<\/strong> under the &quot;Jang Bogo-N Project.&quot; The Cabinet has passed a special bill to facilitate the project, which aims to launch the first vessel by the <strong>mid-2030s<\/strong> and achieve full deployment in the late 2030s.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative is designed to counter North Korea&#39;s growing submarine-launched missile capabilities and will rely on <strong>low-enriched <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/uranium\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"13\" title=\"Uranium\">uranium<\/a> (LEU)<\/strong> to comply with international non-proliferation standards. <em>The government emphasized that while the submarines will be nuclear-powered, the nation remains committed to not possessing nuclear weapons.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Paramount Skydance Prices $42B Debt for WBD Merger<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Paramount Skydance (<a href=\"\/stock\/PSKY\">PSKY<\/a>)<\/strong> has finalized the pricing for a colossal financing package intended to fund its acquisition of <strong>Warner Bros. Discovery (<a href=\"\/stock\/WBD\">WBD<\/a>)<\/strong>. The offering includes <strong>$30 billion<\/strong> in senior secured first-lien notes with coupons ranging from 6.30% to 8.90%, alongside <strong>$11.4 billion<\/strong> in second-lien notes.<\/p>\n<p>The company also priced an <strong>$8.5 billion<\/strong> Term Loan B facility, which was upsized from an initial $7.5 billion due to strong institutional demand. <em>This massive debt issuance represents one of the largest media-sector financings in history, signaling credit market confidence in the combined entity&#39;s cash-flow potential.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Australia Trade Surplus Shrinks; Job Vacancies Dip<\/h2>\n<p>Australia\u2019s trade surplus fell to <strong>A$495 million<\/strong> in August, a significant drop from the revised A$1,351 million in July. While <strong>exports rose 3.7%<\/strong>, they were overwhelmed by a <strong>5.8% jump in imports<\/strong>, reflecting resilient domestic demand despite high interest rates.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, the <strong>Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)<\/strong> reported that job vacancies fell by <strong>0.9%<\/strong> in the August quarter. Although vacancies have declined for several consecutive quarters, they remain 1.3% lower than a year ago, suggesting a <em>gradual cooling of the labor market<\/em> rather than a sharp contraction.<\/p>\n<h2>Regional Developments: Japan Fee Hikes and Energy Disruptions<\/h2>\n<p>In Japan, new immigration fee structures took effect today, significantly increasing costs for foreign residents. The fee for <strong>Permanent Residency<\/strong> rose from 10,000 yen to <strong>200,000 yen<\/strong>, a move the government attributes to the rising administrative costs of visa screening. The hike triggered a massive rush at immigration bureaus earlier this week as applicants sought to file under the old rates.<\/p>\n<p>In the energy sector, <strong>Petronas<\/strong> announced a temporary shutdown of the <strong>Songkhla export pipeline<\/strong>, operated by the Trans Thai-Malaysia joint venture. The closure follows an issue detected during a routine inspection, with no confirmed restart date. <em>The shutdown adds to regional energy supply concerns as operators prioritize safety and integrity checks.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways South Korea has officially launched a strategic project to build and deploy its first nuclear-powered submarines by the 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