韩国 · 5254

The net profit of six foreign brokerage firms in Korea surged 214% year on year in Q2, with J.P. Morgan Chase leading the net profit of about US$148 million

Comparatively, as the Korean stock market rose sharply in the second quarter and KOSPI surpassed 9,000 points for the first time, six foreign securities companies, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup Global Markets, achieved a total net profit of 6305 billion won (approximately US$455 million) in South Korea in the second quarter, up 213.8% year on year and 133.3% month-on-month. Among them, J.P. Morgan had the highest net profit of 204.5 billion won (approximately US$148 million), with only 87 employees in Korea as of the end of June; Goldman Sachs's net profit for the second quarter was 137.1 billion won (approximately US$98.9 million). The transaction volume of foreign investors in the Korean securities market reached 1851.9 trillion won (about 1.34 trillion US dollars) during the same period, an increase of 312% over the previous year. The sharp increase in trading activity is considered to be one of the main factors driving the growth in the performance of foreign securities businesses. (Econovill)

1m ago

SK Hynix and Samsung shareholder return plans questioned: Micron and SanDisk call for 100% refund of excess cash

Comparatively, after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix announced the introduction of a shareholder return plan to use more than 50% of free cash flow (FCF) for shareholder returns, SanDisk (SanDisk) and Micron (Micron) proposed to return 100% of “excess cash (excess cash)” to shareholders, causing the market to question the relatively low level of shareholder returns of Korean semiconductor companies. However, the Korean industry and financial institutions pointed out that the definitions of cash indicators based on the two types of policies are not the same, and it is unfair to just compare the ratio of “50%” to “100%.” The industry believes that Korean corporate return policies based on FCF are more definitive in terms of monetary forecasting, execution standards, and transparency. According to our understanding, FCF generally refers to the cash generated by an enterprise through business activities, the remaining cash after deducting investment expenses such as capital expenses (CAPEX), etc., which can be calculated more objectively through data such as cash flow statements. Samsung Electronics previously announced that 50% of the three-year cumulative FCF from 2024 to 2026 will be used for shareholder returns; SK Hynix also plans to use more than 50% of the cumulative FCF for shareholder returns between 2025 and 2027. (Yonhap)

1m ago

The Korean stock market experienced from fervor to despair, and retail leveraged investors lost tens of billions of dollars

Comparative news, according to Reuters, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 30% from its June 19 high. The previous stock market frenzy driven by the AI boom and leveraged capital quickly turned pessimistic. The South Korean government originally planned to eliminate South Korea's discounts by introducing more investment tools and improving corporate governance, but sharp market fluctuations have made the effects of policies and investors' risk tolerance come under scrutiny. South Korea's regulators allowed the listing of single-stock leveraged ETFs on May 27. Investors only need to complete 1 hour of training and deposit at least 10 million won to participate. In the same period, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both reached $1 trillion in market capitalization, driving KOSPI to more than double the level in October last year and surpass 8,000 points. Retail investors borrowed heavily to chase the AI market, and KOSPI's financing balance increased by about 75% during the year, reaching a record 29.8 trillion won on June 24. As Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together account for more than 53% of KOSPI's total market value, related leveraged products further amplify market fluctuations. At the beginning of July, the Korean Panic Index VKOSPI rose to 97.99, the highest level since statistics began in 2009. Citibank estimated on July 28 that retail investors lost $38.7 billion in leveraged ETFs. The market correction has also brought social pressure. A Seoul psychiatrist said that the number of stock investment-related patients he has received has risen from 7 to 8 patients per day last year to an average of 11 per day since June this year. Busan police also arrested a man in his 20s who allegedly stabbed a YouTuber, who is accused of blaming the other party for stock losses. Currently, the South Korean authorities have tightened restrictions on individual investment in leveraged ETFs. Analysts believe that excessive volatility may also affect South Korea's goal of being included in the MSCI developed markets index.

1m ago

The institutionalization of the Korean crypto market accelerates: the top 5 exchanges have 6590 corporate accounts, Bithumb accounts for nearly half

Comparative news, according to Yonhap News Agency, Korea's Financial Supervisory Service submitted data to the South Korean National Assembly Government Affairs Committee, revealing that as of the end of July, there were 6590 registered corporate accounts on Korea's top five virtual asset exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Digital Asset Exchange, Gopax). In terms of exchange distribution, Bithumb has the highest number of registered corporate accounts, reaching 3,280; Upbit operator Dunamu has 2,086 accounts. The two major exchanges had a total of 5,366 corporate accounts, accounting for 81.4% of the total. Additionally, Korbit has 620, Coinone has 539, and Gopax has 65. Judging from the compliance situation, there are a total of 711 corporate accounts that have completed customer identity verification (KYC), accounting for 10.8% of all corporate accounts. Among them, Upbit has the most, 290; Bithumb has 199, Korbit has 184, and Coinone and Gopax have 33 and 5, respectively. In terms of virtual asset holdings, Korean corporate accounts are about 43.377 billion won (about 31.2 million US dollars), of which the Upbit platform accounts for the highest share, with a holding scale of about 27.08 billion won, accounting for 62.4% of the total; Bithumb is about 6.29 billion won, and Coinone is about 5.15 billion won. The corporate account deposit amount is approximately KRW 9.13 billion.

1m ago

The sharp decline in Korean stocks made it difficult to stop risk appetite, and retail investors switched to high-interest structured products

Comparative news, according to Kim Sook's report, an unprecedented stock market crash is driving retail investors in South Korea to switch to complex structured products. This group of risk-loving investors is still constantly looking for ways to improve returns. Equity Linked Securities (ELS), which have annualized interest rates of up to 40% to 50%, are once again popular with retail investors. In July, ELS sales rose to a three-year high, with mainly products linked to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Meanwhile, regulators are working to curb retail fervent demand for single-stock leveraged open-ended index funds. This type of product is thought to have amplified market fluctuations during the 22% drop in the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index last month. This shows that one of the largest market crashes in recent memory did little to weaken retail investors' risk appetite; it only changed the types of products they were chasing. The recent market correction seems to have created an attractive entry point for ELS products. This type of product can provide investors with coupon interest as long as the linked stock or index remains within a pre-set range. However, once the market falls sharply, such products may also face huge downside risks.

1m ago

Korean retail investors flocked to US stocks to bet on SK Hynix ADR, and 1.16 trillion won capital inflows triggered a sharp premium

Comparative news, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository and Settlement Agency, South Korean retail investors are buying up their ADR (American Depositary Receipts) listed on the US NASDAQ in a big way, causing ADR to have a large premium compared to local Korean stocks. Since SK Hynix ADR was listed on NASDAQ on July 10 to August 19, Korean investors have accumulated a net purchase of SK Hynix ADR of about US$835 million (approximately 1.16 trillion won), ranking second among US stocks bought by Korean investors during the same period, accounting for 16.4% of the total net purchase amount of US stocks by Korean investors. This trend triggered the price gap between SK Hynix ADR and local Korean stocks to continue to widen. SK Hynix Korea's shares closed down 9.75% to 1.5 million won on August 19; ADR in the US market rose 0.35% to close at $156.16. Since 1 SK Hynix ADR corresponds to 0.1 shares of the Korean capital stock, theoretically, the share value after converting the ADR price should be about 10 times the ADR price. However, as of the 19th, the Korean stock price was only 6.82 times the ADR conversion price, which meant that ADR formed a premium of about 46.67% compared to the capital stock. (NATE)

6h ago

Korean retail investors are frantically betting on the recovery of the memory chip sector: 118.5 billion won in a single week to buy US memory ETFs

According to data from the Korea Securities Depository and Settlement Agency, Korean retail investors made net purchases of the “Roundhill Memory ETF” between August 14 and 20 this week, making it the second-largest net purchase of the country's overseas individual stocks and ETF investments (after Alphabet, Google's parent company). This ETF is an actively managed product, mainly investing in major memory chip companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron. Recently, memory chip stocks have clearly picked up. The stock prices of SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics rose 21.6% and 21.8% respectively from August 10 to 21, both exceeding the 10.4% increase of the Korea Composite Index (KOSPI) during the same period. In the US market, Micron rose about 11% over the same period, and SanDisk increased by about 32%. South Korea's domestic ETF market also saw capital inflows. The data shows that the net inflow of the “TIGER US S&P500 ETF” tracking the S&P 500 index from August 14 to 20 was 1709 billion won, and the net inflow of the “KODEX US NASDAQ 100 ETF” tracking the NASDAQ 100 index was 132.3 billion won. Market participants believe that as expectations for the recovery of the semiconductor cycle heat up, investors are increasing their allocation to the AI chip and memory chip industry chain. (Daum) This article is sponsored by GENG, Build Your Fortune on GENG (https://geng.one)

10h agoburnking

South Korea plans to launch a new securities market in mid-November, and the STO market is at a critical turning point

Comparatively, the Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to launch a new securities market on November 16. At that time, assets such as art, real estate, and music copyright will be traded like stocks through securities accounts. According to reports, the Korea Exchange is currently advancing the construction of relevant trading systems and preparations for market participants, and will conduct simulated trading for 6 weeks from October 6 to November 13. The official opening time may be adjusted according to the financial supervisory authority's approval process for listed products. After the market opens, investors can trade through securities company accounts, and the trading time is consistent with the stock market. Analysts believe that the securities token issuance (STO) industry in the Korean market is already at an important turning point. Although new securities listed and traded in November will be temporarily issued and registered using traditional electronic securities methods, subsequent tokenized securities based on blockchain distributed ledger issuance and management will gradually be implemented after the relevant laws are officially implemented in February 2027. (TheDailyEconomy)

10h ago

South Korea plans to open virtual asset accounts to about 3,500 companies, and the central bank plans to test AI proxy deposit tokens by the end of 2026

Comparing news, Factblock CEO and Korea Blockchain Week organizer Andrew Park said that the Korean crypto market is shifting from being driven by retail transactions to institutional digital finance. The focus of global financial institutions and enterprises has moved from tokens, exchanges, and prices to escrow, tokenization, stablecoins, payment and settlement infrastructure, and regulatory compliance. The Korea Financial Services Commission has proposed a framework to open corporate virtual asset accounts to approximately 3,500 listed companies and registered professional investors. The National Assembly of Korea has officially passed amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act to incorporate tokenized real-world assets and security tokens into a unified legal framework. The Bank of Korea has completed initial testing of the Project Hangang real-world deposit token project and plans to conduct the second phase of institutional testing in late 2026. Related technical experiments have used wholesale deposit tokens to allow AI agents to execute automated conditional transactions. This article is sponsored by GENG, Build Your Fortune on GENG (https://geng.one)

11h agoburnking

Korea Financial Supervisory Service Launches Real-Time AI Platform: Detecting Cryptocurrency Price Manipulation

Comparing news, according to N reports, Korea's Financial Supervisory Service has launched a real-time artificial intelligence platform to detect cryptocurrency price manipulation. One of the core functions of the system is the ability to identify short-term price manipulation by referring to a historical database of known market abuse strategies. The Korea Financial Supervisory Service will next expand the system to track cross-exchange capital flows and on-chain blockchain activity.

15h ago