Daily Brief South Korea: Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor India , Classys and more

In today’s briefing:

CSOP Sammy ETF + Korean Retail Leverage Frenzy = Contango Basis Arb Alert

CSOP told Korean media this Sammy ETF product targets Korea’s local retail traders wanting leveraged or short KOSPI exposure, especially Sammy, without using Korea’s derivatives market—essentially a cross-border retail play.
Korean retail’s insanely strong demand for anything leveraged, combined with limited domestic derivatives access, makes significant local inflows very likely—far from a moonshot.
TRS use doesn’t guarantee 1:1 futures buying—depends on broker hedging. But, with Samsung futures volume surging, heavy retail flows in CSOP ETF could cause contango and a basis arb opportunity.

Domestic Demand Sluggish:Hyundai Motor India (HYUNDAI IN)’s Q4 FY25 profit declined 3.7% YoY as weak domestic sales persisted, partly offset by 14% YoY export growth and price hikes.
SUV Focus Drives Mix Shift: SUVs formed 69% of domestic volumes in Q4, benefiting from rising first-time buyer interest and driving improved average selling prices.
Valuation Fair; Profitability to Soften: Stock trades at ~27x EPS. Near-term margins may be pressured by depreciation from the underutilized new Pune plant ramping up in FY26.

After the market close on 16 May, Bain Capital sold about 6% stake in Classys (214150 KS) in a block deal sale.
Bain Capital sold 3.93 million shares of Classys at 57,915 won per share (this price is 10.9% discount from Classys’ closing price the previous day).
Bain Capital’s decision to sell a 6% stake in Classys via a discounted block deal, rather than offloading its entire 60.2% controlling stake, indicates a share overhang on future sales.

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