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>We’ve got a locked-in floor on ’26 DPS and clear upside, providing a solid dividend yield baseline—ideal for leaning into aggressive trade setups.</li>
<li>We can lean into spot longs with covered calls, but yields (especially KB, Shinhan) aren’t yet compelling. A pullback before the ’26 dividend run is a prime entry window.</li>
<li>Plus, a bank long-short: long KB/Shinhan, short Hana/Woori. KB and Shinhan face payout increases, with ’26 guidance in 4Q25 earnings as the catalyst.</li>
</ul>


We’ve got a locked-in floor on ’26 DPS and clear upside, providing a solid dividend yield baseline—ideal for leaning into aggressive trade setups.
We can lean into spot longs with covered calls, but yields (especially KB, Shinhan) aren’t yet compelling. A pullback before the ’26 dividend run is a prime entry window.
Plus, a bank long-short: long KB/Shinhan, short Hana/Woori. KB and Shinhan face payout increases, with ’26 guidance in 4Q25 earnings as the catalyst.


Korea Local Banks: New Dividend Tax Effectively Locks in a De Facto Minimum Yield Play

Financials & FinTech research, Galliano’s Financials Research

Victor Galliano

Financials & FinTech research

Financials & FinTech, EM & Developed Markets

Galliano’s Financials Research

Galliano's Financials Research provides fundamental research in Emerging Markets financials, including FinTech, as well as financials in select Developed Markets.

The investment style applied is generally value oriented, although Growth At Reasonable Price (GARP) strategies can also be used where appropriate. 

Our investment research approach aim is often contrarian, looking to capitalise on overly sceptical or optimistic consensus views. In terms of valuation techniques, the focus is on PBV ratio to ROE, PE multiples and dividend yield, as well as the application of PEG ratios and, where appropriate, Sum of the Parts (SOTP) valuations.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>We stick with Hana Financial as our sole buy in Korean banks; even though it does not top our proprietary scorecard, it remains attractively valued and its returns are improving</li>
<li>We downgrade Woori to a neutral from a buy, with Woori now trading at a PBV premium to Hana; historically, this has been an indicator of future poor share performance</li>
<li>KB Financial ranks top in our scorecard; KB is one watch, but remains a neutral due to limited appeal in terms of valuation</li>
</ul>


We stick with Hana Financial as our sole buy in Korean banks; even though it does not top our proprietary scorecard, it remains attractively valued and its returns are improving
We downgrade Woori to a neutral from a buy, with Woori now trading at a PBV premium to Hana; historically, this has been an indicator of future poor share performance
KB Financial ranks top in our scorecard; KB is one watch, but remains a neutral due to limited appeal in terms of valuation


Korean Banks; Keep Buy on Hana (086790 KS), Take Profits on Woori (316140 KS)

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China biotech, Aequitas Research

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China biotech

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Quantitative Analysis

<ul>
<li>We analyzed the changes in foreign holdings of KRX stocks as of Aug 1st. The aggregated holding was USD626.1bn.</li>
<li>We estimate that foreign flows to be inflows of USD2,003mln. We tabulate the league table for top changes by value for 1W/4W/1Y and top stocks held by foreign institutions.</li>
<li>We highlight changes of foreign holdings in Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor, NAVER, Samsung H.I..</li>
</ul>


We analyzed the changes in foreign holdings of KRX stocks as of Aug 1st. The aggregated holding was USD626.1bn.
We estimate that foreign flows to be inflows of USD2,003mln. We tabulate the league table for top changes by value for 1W/4W/1Y and top stocks held by foreign institutions.
We highlight changes of foreign holdings in Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor, NAVER, Samsung H.I..


KRX Foreign Holding Weekly (Aug 1st): Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor, NAVER

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>South Korea rebounds from a record low, with fund allocations rising from 8.6% to 10.4%—bringing net positioning close to equal weight for the first time in 17 years.</li>
<li>Tech and Financials lead the revival, with SK Hynix surging in both price and ownership. Other names like NAVER and Hyundai Rotem show growing traction.</li>
<li>Selectivity is back. While some stocks still lag, the shift toward Korea’s global leaders is helping EM investors rebuild exposure after years of structural underweight.</li>
</ul>


South Korea rebounds from a record low, with fund allocations rising from 8.6% to 10.4%—bringing net positioning close to equal weight for the first time in 17 years.
Tech and Financials lead the revival, with SK Hynix surging in both price and ownership. Other names like NAVER and Hyundai Rotem show growing traction.
Selectivity is back. While some stocks still lag, the shift toward Korea’s global leaders is helping EM investors rebuild exposure after years of structural underweight.


South Korea: Rebounding as Underweight Narrows

<ul>
<li>ETF rebalancing's key, but still too early to front-run — both use FnGuide screens based on FY1 DPS and prices from 20 days before November-end.</li>
<li>Beyond the rebalance noise, ADR-local spreads have been widening — KB hit +6%, Shinhan’s also drifting. Likely tied to the recent liquidity surge in dividend names.</li>
<li>ADR arb’s more doable with NXT tightening slippage. With proper FX hedging, it’s a clean side play riding the policy-driven liquidity wave.</li>
</ul>


ETF rebalancing's key, but still too early to front-run — both use FnGuide screens based on FY1 DPS and prices from 20 days before November-end.
Beyond the rebalance noise, ADR-local spreads have been widening — KB hit +6%, Shinhan’s also drifting. Likely tied to the recent liquidity surge in dividend names.
ADR arb’s more doable with NXT tightening slippage. With proper FX hedging, it’s a clean side play riding the policy-driven liquidity wave.


ADR Arb on Korean Divvy Names: A Side Play Riding the Policy-Driven Liquidity Wave

South Korea

KB Financial Group Inc. (the "Company"), in accordance with Financial Holding Companies Act, was established on September 29, 2008, through stock transfer with the former shareholders of its subsidiaries including Kookmin Bank in order to provide management services and financing to associated companies. The headquarters are located at Seoul, Korea

Price Gauge
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KB Financial (105560 KS)

Korea Local Banks: New Dividend Tax Effectively Locks in a De Facto Minimum Yield Play

This post covers a trade angle on local banks benefiting from the dividend income separate tax floor — effectively locking in a de facto minimum...

Sanghyun Park

Korean Banks; Keep Buy on Hana (086790 KS), Take Profits on Woori (316140 KS)

We stick with Hana as a buy in Korean banks, downgrading Woori to neutral, due to its premium PBV ratio to Hana; scorecard-topping KB Financial is...

Victor Galliano

KRX Foreign Holding Weekly (Aug 1st): Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor, NAVER

We analyzed KRX foreign holding data for the past week and highlighted foreign holding changes in Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor,...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

South Korea: Rebounding as Underweight Narrows

South Korea is back on the radar. Fund allocations have rebounded to 10.4%, with net positioning near equal weight for the first time in 17...

Steven Holden

ADR Arb on Korean Divvy Names: A Side Play Riding the Policy-Driven Liquidity Wave

This post dives into ADR arbitrage on Korean dividend names — a savvy side play riding the wave of policy-driven liquidity.

Sanghyun Park

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Korea Local Banks: New Dividend Tax Effectively Locks in a De Facto Minimum Yield Play

This post covers a trade angle on local banks benefiting from the dividend income separate tax floor — effectively locking in a de facto minimum...

Sanghyun Park

Korean Banks; Keep Buy on Hana (086790 KS), Take Profits on Woori (316140 KS)

​We stick with Hana as a buy in Korean banks, downgrading Woori to neutral, due to its premium PBV ratio to Hana; scorecard-topping KB Financial is...

Victor Galliano

KRX Foreign Holding Weekly (Aug 1st): Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor, NAVER

We analyzed KRX foreign holding data for the past week and highlighted foreign holding changes in Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor,...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

South Korea: Rebounding as Underweight Narrows

South Korea is back on the radar. Fund allocations have rebounded to 10.4%, with net positioning near equal weight for the first time in 17...

Steven Holden

ADR Arb on Korean Divvy Names: A Side Play Riding the Policy-Driven Liquidity Wave

This post dives into ADR arbitrage on Korean dividend names — a savvy side play riding the wave of policy-driven liquidity.

Sanghyun Park

We stick with Hana as a buy in Korean banks, downgrading Woori to neutral, due to its premium PBV ratio to Hana; scorecard-topping KB Financial is...