A stock ticker at Woori Bank headquarters in central Seoul shows the benchmark KOSPI at 7,876 during intraday trading, Friday. Yonhap
As Korea’s stock market rally continues to draw global attention, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the country’s benchmark index as well as chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are set to debut in overseas markets including Hong Kong and the United States, industry officials said Monday.
Hong Kong-based CSOP Asset Management plans to list a KOSPI 200 ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the second half of the year, which would mark the first ETF in the market directly tracking Korea’s benchmark index.
The exchange already hosts leveraged ETFs tied separately to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which have attracted around 2.4 trillion won ($1.75 billion) and 7.9 trillion won in assets, respectively.
“The introduction of a KOSPI 200 ETF could further improve overseas investors’ access to Korean equities,” said Lim Eun-hye, an analyst at Samsung Securities, adding that demand for Korean assets could continue expanding among Hong Kong pension funds and institutional investors.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., leveraged ETF provider Leverage Shares has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the Leverage Shares 2X Long Memory Daily ETF, a product tied to the Roundhill Memory ETF.
The fund is designed to deliver twice the daily return of the Roundhill product, a thematic ETF focused on memory chipmakers in which Samsung Electronics and SK hynix together account for nearly half of total holdings.
Since its launch in early April, the Roundhill Memory ETF has drawn heavy inflows amid the artificial intelligence boom and surging demand for memory chips, with assets approaching $10 billion.
“With Korean equities continuing to outperform, overseas investor interest is also growing. That increases the likelihood of more Korea-related ETFs launching on global markets going forward,” Lim said.
