Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>SK Hynix achieved record high results in terms of sales and operating profit in 2025, fueled by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. </li>
<li>SK Hynix announced that it plans to cancel 15.3 million treasury shares, representing 2.1% of its outstanding shares (728 million) to enhance shareholder value.</li>
<li>SK Hynix announced that it plans to establish an AI solutions company (tentatively named "AI Co") in the United States and invest up to US$10 billion (14.3 trillion won).</li>
</ul>


SK Hynix achieved record high results in terms of sales and operating profit in 2025, fueled by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. 
SK Hynix announced that it plans to cancel 15.3 million treasury shares, representing 2.1% of its outstanding shares (728 million) to enhance shareholder value.
SK Hynix announced that it plans to establish an AI solutions company (tentatively named "AI Co") in the United States and invest up to US$10 billion (14.3 trillion won).


SK Hynix: Record Results, Cancellation of Treasury Shares, & Start of an AI Solution Co in the US

Derivatives and Quantitative Strategist

Gaudenz Schneider

Equity Derivatives

<ul>
<li>The global auto industry faces significant tariff exposure. Option implied volatility offers a forward-looking assessment of risk.</li>
<li>Chinese car makers started to increase in implied volatility more than the other markets at the beginning of February. They now show the highest risk.</li>
<li>Recent implied volatility trends, asymmetric pricing (skew), and the term structure all seem to indicate that the Indian auto sector is the least exposed to international trade relations.</li>
</ul>


The global auto industry faces significant tariff exposure. Option implied volatility offers a forward-looking assessment of risk.
Chinese car makers started to increase in implied volatility more than the other markets at the beginning of February. They now show the highest risk.
Recent implied volatility trends, asymmetric pricing (skew), and the term structure all seem to indicate that the Indian auto sector is the least exposed to international trade relations.


EQD | Volatile Roads: Unveiling Risk in the Asian Auto Industry Through the Options Market

Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>The index focuses on qualitative factors like capital efficiency and shareholder returns, but efforts to impose sector balance may have overextended its market benchmark role.</li>
<li>Some companies not fitting the 'value-up' narrative got included, while market favorites were sidelined by sector rankings, which is puzzling given the index's original goal.</li>
<li>Still, with rebalancing cut down to once a year, we should expect the flow impact on the index names to hit harder than initially thought compared to their sector peers.</li>
</ul>


The index focuses on qualitative factors like capital efficiency and shareholder returns, but efforts to impose sector balance may have overextended its market benchmark role.
Some companies not fitting the 'value-up' narrative got included, while market favorites were sidelined by sector rankings, which is puzzling given the index's original goal.
Still, with rebalancing cut down to once a year, we should expect the flow impact on the index names to hit harder than initially thought compared to their sector peers.


All the Scoop on the Korea Value-Up Index

<ul>
<li>On 28 August, Hyundai Motor announced its Corporate Value Up policies, including a minimum dividend per share this year targeting 10,000 won per share for common shares. </li>
<li>Hyundai Motor plans to implement a shareholder return policy based on a total shareholder return (TSR) of 35% or more from 2025 to 2027.</li>
<li>Hyundai Motor's Corporate Value Up plan of providing TSR of 35% or more from 2025 to 2027 is certainly better than what it provided in the past three years (26%). </li>
</ul>


On 28 August, Hyundai Motor announced its Corporate Value Up policies, including a minimum dividend per share this year targeting 10,000 won per share for common shares. 
Hyundai Motor plans to implement a shareholder return policy based on a total shareholder return (TSR) of 35% or more from 2025 to 2027.
Hyundai Motor's Corporate Value Up plan of providing TSR of 35% or more from 2025 to 2027 is certainly better than what it provided in the past three years (26%). 


Hyundai Motor Announces Its Corporate Value Up Policies

<ul>
<li>We have a Positive view of KT Corp (030200 KS) due to three main reasons.</li>
<li>First, KT has started to implement aggressive capital return policy (returning 50% of net income through dividends and share buybacks/cancellations). Two other reasons include Corporate Value Up and higher Smartscore.</li>
<li>KT Corp has been the best performing stock among the three major Korean telcos in the past one year. KT Corp's shares are up 27.9% in the past one year.</li>
</ul>


We have a Positive view of KT Corp (030200 KS) due to three main reasons.
First, KT has started to implement aggressive capital return policy (returning 50% of net income through dividends and share buybacks/cancellations). Two other reasons include Corporate Value Up and higher Smartscore.
KT Corp has been the best performing stock among the three major Korean telcos in the past one year. KT Corp's shares are up 27.9% in the past one year.


South Korea

Hyundai Motor Company manufactures, sells, and exports passenger cars, trucks, and commercial vehicles. The Company also sells various auto parts and operates auto repair service centers throughout South Korea. Hyundai Motor provides financial services through its subsidiaries.

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Hyundai Motor (005387 KS)

SK Hynix: Record Results, Cancellation of Treasury Shares, & Start of an AI Solution Co in the US

SK Hynix achieved record high results in terms of sales and operating profit in 2025, fueled by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI)...

Douglas Kim

EQD | Volatile Roads: Unveiling Risk in the Asian Auto Industry Through the Options Market

Global auto industry faces tariff risk. The option market assigns the highest risk to Chinese car makers. The Indian auto sector appears least...

Gaudenz Schneider

All the Scoop on the Korea Value-Up Index

This post breaks down everything we need to know about the Korea Value-up Index that KRX just unveiled today, especially focusing on those...

Sanghyun Park

Hyundai Motor Announces Its Corporate Value Up Policies

Hyundai Motor's Corporate Value Up plan of providing TSR of 35% or more from 2025 to 2027 is certainly better than what it provided in the past...

Douglas Kim

Asian Dividend Gems: KT Corp

Positive outlook on KT Corp (030200 KS) due to aggressive capital return policy, Corporate Value Up, and higher Smartscore leading to strong stock...

Douglas Kim

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

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SK Hynix: Record Results, Cancellation of Treasury Shares, & Start of an AI Solution Co in the US

SK Hynix achieved record high results in terms of sales and operating profit in 2025, fueled by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI)...

Douglas Kim

EQD | Volatile Roads: Unveiling Risk in the Asian Auto Industry Through the Options Market

​Global auto industry faces tariff risk. The option market assigns the highest risk to Chinese car makers. The Indian auto sector appears least...

Gaudenz Schneider

All the Scoop on the Korea Value-Up Index

This post breaks down everything we need to know about the Korea Value-up Index that KRX just unveiled today, especially focusing on those...

Sanghyun Park

Hyundai Motor Announces Its Corporate Value Up Policies

Hyundai Motor's Corporate Value Up plan of providing TSR of 35% or more from 2025 to 2027 is certainly better than what it provided in the past...

Douglas Kim

Asian Dividend Gems: KT Corp

​Positive outlook on KT Corp (030200 KS) due to aggressive capital return policy, Corporate Value Up, and higher Smartscore leading to strong stock...

Douglas Kim

Global auto industry faces tariff risk. The option market assigns the highest risk to Chinese car makers. The Indian auto sector appears least...

Positive outlook on KT Corp (030200 KS) due to aggressive capital return policy, Corporate Value Up, and higher Smartscore leading to strong stock...