South Korea Archives | Page 11 of 126

Aug 22

Daily Brief South Korea: Samsung Life Insurance, Myungin Pharmaceutical and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

True Aspect (Trade-Wise) Of the Samsung Life Accounting Issue: Today’s Biggest Market Narrative
Myungin Pharmaceutical IPO Preview

True Aspect (Trade-Wise) Of the Samsung Life Accounting Issue: Today’s Biggest Market Narrative

By Sanghyun Park

Both accounting issues are complex, but intense regulator scrutiny fuels the Samsung Life Act case, sparking governance reshuffle bets and driving today’s Samsung Life stock pop.
Accounting rechecks could spark divestment fears or governance-driven rerating, creating a classic headline-driven, bidirectional trading setup.
Near-Term, this is a headline-driven momentum setup: Samsung Life longs/shorts, ready to pivot, with relative-value plays vs financial peers or Samsung’s governance-linked names.

Myungin Pharmaceutical IPO Preview

By Douglas Kim

Myungin Pharmaceutical is getting ready to complete its IPO in KOSPI in September. The IPO price range is from 45,000 won to 58,000 won.
The total offering amount ranges from 153 billion won ($111 million) to 197 billion won ($143 million). The book building for the institutional investors lasts from 9 to 15 September.
Using EBITDA of 104.5 billion won and EV/EBITDA of 7.9x and IPO discount ranges of 32.2% to 47.4%, this resulted in IPO price range of 45,000 won to 58,000 won.

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Aug 21

Daily Brief South Korea: KB Financial, Samsung Electronics, Goodai Global and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Korea’s Dividend Narrative Is Back: Unpacking the DP’s New Bill and Its Backstory
US Government May Acquire Equity Stakes in Samsung Electronics and TSMC
Goodai Global (Unlisted) – The Most Aggressive M&A Player in the Korean Cosmetics Industry

Korea’s Dividend Narrative Is Back: Unpacking the DP’s New Bill and Its Backstory

By Sanghyun Park

A new bill cutting Korea’s dividend tax hit the tape, giving local dividend plays an immediate boost on the news flow.
The presidential office is aligned on pushing the dividend tax below the 27.5% CGT floor. The new party leader is also tightly syncing with the Blue House to avoid clashes.
The DP’s tax cut move today puts the gov’s dividend narrative back in play with juice. We need setups to ride this theme.

US Government May Acquire Equity Stakes in Samsung Electronics and TSMC

By Douglas Kim

According to Reuters, the US government may be interested in acquiring equity stakes in Samsung Electronics and TSMC in exchange for CHIPS and Science Act grants.
The US government is exploring ways to take equity stakes in these two Asian tech giants that have been expanding their semiconductor facilities in the United States.
If the US government decides to invest $10 billion each in Samsung Electronics and TSMC, they would represent about 3% and 1% of Samsung Electronics and TSMC’s market caps, respectively.

Goodai Global (Unlisted) – The Most Aggressive M&A Player in the Korean Cosmetics Industry

By Douglas Kim

Goodai Global is the most aggressive M&A player in the Korean cosmetics industry. It has grown its business mainly through M&As.
It has achieved the strongest growth in sales and profits among the major Korean cosmetics companies in the past four years.
In early August 2025, Goodai Global secured 800 billion won, with a pledge to go public within three years. Goodai’s value is estimated to be about 4 trillion won.

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Aug 20

Daily Brief South Korea: F&F, HMM Co., Ltd., Iljin Electric, Coupang and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

M&A Battle for TaylorMade
HMM Tender Side Play: Targeting a Basis Squeeze Ahead of Sep Expiry
Trading Halt on 79 NXT Stocks in Korea: Screening Key Names to Watch for Spread Plays
CPNG Is Focusing On AI, Automation, & The Robotics Revolution; Will It Pay Off?

M&A Battle for TaylorMade

By Douglas Kim

TaylorMade is up for sale. TaylorMade is one of the most valuable, golf equipment brands globally.
We labeled this article as Bearish due to concerns about F&F getting into this M&A battle for TaylorMade in the first place which could result in overpaying for this deal.
We would rather have F&F take the win and provide higher returns to its shareholders.

HMM Tender Side Play: Targeting a Basis Squeeze Ahead of Sep Expiry

By Sanghyun Park

Most traders are starting in September, rolling into October. Sep/Oct spread volume has picked up unusually fast, clearly reflecting hedge demand linked to the tender
As September expiry approaches, basis-squeeze risk rises, likely pushing September cheap and October expensive, widening the spread — creating a clear side trade opportunity.
With a basis squeeze expected near September expiry, we could enter a Sep/Oct spread (short Sep, long Oct) and also watch for spot-futures decoupling to play the cash-futures spread.

Trading Halt on 79 NXT Stocks in Korea: Screening Key Names to Watch for Spread Plays

By Sanghyun Park

NXT’s halt will be live tomorrow, likely shaking local flows. With 15–20% tape share, blocked tickers spill to KRX, thinning books, widening spreads, and hitting retail-heavy liquidity.
When NXT goes dark, books thin, fills slip, and prices swing sharply — widening spreads and creating risk (or alpha) in retail-heavy tickers for short-term or intraday trades.
Below is a hit list of 500B+ KRW stocks where NXT takes 40%+ volume — watch these Phase 1 tickers as trading halts shake up flow and spreads.

CPNG Is Focusing On AI, Automation, & The Robotics Revolution; Will It Pay Off?

By Baptista Research

Coupang’s second-quarter 2025 earnings highlighted several key aspects of the company’s performance, illustrating both positive developments and ongoing challenges.
On the positive side, Coupang reported a strong revenue growth of 16% year-over-year, or 19% in constant currency, reaching $8.5 billion.
This revenue increase was largely driven by the Product Commerce segment, which experienced a gross profit margin expansion of 230 basis points to 32.6%, alongside an 80 basis point increase in adjusted EBITDA margins to over 9%.

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Aug 19

Daily Brief South Korea: HMM Co., Ltd., Hanon Systems, Gemvax & Kael, Korea Stock Exchange Kospi Index, Aurora World, Classys and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Today’s HMM Tender Follow-Up Disclosure and Hedge Ratio Setup
Hanon Systems Announces a Major Potential Rights Offering
FnGuide Semiconductor Top10 Index Rebalance Preview: Two Changes Likely in September
Real-Time Read on Korea’s Top Market Narrative — Tax Reform Play
Aurora World – Palm Pals and YooHoo or Chairman’s Love of Golf?
Classys (214150 KS): Equipment Sale Boosts 2Q Result; New Device Approval to Drive 2H Performance

Today’s HMM Tender Follow-Up Disclosure and Hedge Ratio Setup

By Sanghyun Park

KOBC’s core mission hinges on HMM; without it, no real mandate. Structural incentive to hold remains, so its active tender participation is still questionable.
Still, max proration risk seems base case, with weak Q2, soft Q3 freight outlook, and post-tender skew pointing bearish for HMM.
Spread >10% makes this too good to pass, but should also watch policy risk — better to lock futures hedge early as flows show players scrambling for cover.

Hanon Systems Announces a Major Potential Rights Offering

By Douglas Kim

On 14 August, Hanon Systems (018880 KS) announced a potential rights offering capital raise. The exact amount will be finalized at the EGM next month.
The significant size of the rights offering is expected to burden its largest shareholder Hankook Tire & Technology (161390 KS) which owns a 54.8% stake in Hanon Systems.
We believe the potential rights offering is likely to continue to negatively impact Hanon Systems by diluting its existing shareholders.

FnGuide Semiconductor Top10 Index Rebalance Preview: Two Changes Likely in September

By Brian Freitas

With the averaging period for the October rebalance starting in two weeks, we forecast 2 changes for the FnGuide Semiconductor Top10 Index at the upcoming rebalance.
Based on the passive assets tracking the index, there will be between 1.5-4.7x ADV to trade in the forecast changes.
On average, the forecast adds have outperformed the forecast deletes by a wide margin over the last 3 months and could reverse some of the changes from the April rebalance.

Real-Time Read on Korea’s Top Market Narrative — Tax Reform Play

By Sanghyun Park

Even the revised draft is facing possible first-ever presidential non-approval, which acts like a de facto veto between Cabinet approval and National Assembly submission.
The admin aims to make stocks outperform real estate, with a dividend tax cut under separate taxation as the key lever, fully recognized by the Presidential Office.
Local markets are pulling back on Presidential Office delays, but signals point to a clear reform direction — time to build mid-term positions in banks and holdcos.

Aurora World – Palm Pals and YooHoo or Chairman’s Love of Golf?

By Douglas Kim

Aurora World reported excellent results in 2Q 2025. It had sales of 77.1 billion won (up 26.5% YoY) and operating profit of 8.8 billion won (up 86.7% YoY).
The company’s excellent results in 2Q 2025 was driven by the continued strong demand for its character toys (Palm Pals, YooHoo & Friends, and Rolly Pets) in key overseas markets.
If we attach a 10x P/E on estimated net profit of 30.1 billion won, it would suggest a market cap of 301 billion won (2026E) (37% upside from current levels).

Classys (214150 KS): Equipment Sale Boosts 2Q Result; New Device Approval to Drive 2H Performance

By Tina Banerjee

Classys (214150 KS) has reported strong 2Q25 result, with record high quarterly sales, gross profit, and operating profit. In fact, revenue hit sixth consecutive quarterly record high.
During 2Q25, revenue from device increased 47% YoY and 30% QoQ to KRW46B, mainly driven by strong global sales, which increased 36% YoY and 27% QoQ to KRW33B.
Classys reaffirmed 2025 revenue guidance of KRW340–360B, up 39–48% YoY. In 1H25, the company has achieved 46% of annual revenue target, thereby enhancing guidance visibility.

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Aug 18

Daily Brief South Korea: Isupetasys and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

KOSPI Size Indices: Passive Flows for Many Active Changes

KOSPI Size Indices: Passive Flows for Many Active Changes

By Brian Freitas

The review period for the September rebalance of the KOSPI Size Indices commenced on 1 June and will end on 31 August.
Nearing the end of the review period, we forecast 49 migrating stocks. Among new listings, 1 stock could be added to LargeCap, 3 to MidCap and 1 to SmallCap.
There are a number of stocks that will have passive flow from global index trackers over the next few weeks, while some are potential changes to the KOSPI2 in December.

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Aug 17

Daily Brief South Korea: Samsung Electronics and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (15 to 29 August 2025)

Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (15 to 29 August 2025)

By Douglas Kim

In this insight, we provide the top 10 stock picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the two weeks (15 to 29 August 2025).
Shipbuilding and rechargeable battery were two of the best performing sectors in the past two weeks.
Top 10 picks in this bi-weekly include Samsung Electronics, LG Uplus, Hyundai Elevator, KT&G, KEPCO E&C, Dentium, NCsoft, JYP Entertainment, LG Chem, and Ecopro BM.

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Aug 16

Daily Brief South Korea: SK Innovation, Total Soft Bank, Dentium and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Playing Korea’s Hot Secondary Battery Sector Rotation
Korea Small Cap Gem #43: Total Soft Bank
Dentium – Cancellation of 2.44 Million Treasury Shares (22% of Outstanding Shares)

Playing Korea’s Hot Secondary Battery Sector Rotation

By Sanghyun Park

Battery-Sector rotation is heating up in Korea as active ETFs sharply boost LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI, signaling renewed sector focus amid ESS growth and easing valuation pressures.
Watch for supply-demand dislocations during battery-sector ETF rebalances; top-heavy names may see concentrated flows, amplifying trading intensity and driving larger-than-normal price swings.
The 25% cap reversion could move LG Energy Solution down and SK Innovation up ~5pp, with flows hitting -0.2x/+0.6x DTV, potentially amplified by aggressive sector inflows.

Korea Small Cap Gem #43: Total Soft Bank

By Douglas Kim

Total Soft Bank (045340 KS) is a Korean software company focused on digital solutions (enterprise industrial software, SaaS) for the maritime shipping and port logistics value chain.
The company had best ever results in 2Q25. It had sales of 9.7 billion won (up 140.6% YoY) and operating profit of 5.1 billion won (up 947% YoY) in 2Q25.
Using a P/E ratio of 15x on the estimated net profit of 15.5 billion won (2027E), it would suggest market cap of 233 billion won (207% higher than current levels).

Dentium – Cancellation of 2.44 Million Treasury Shares (22% of Outstanding Shares)

By Douglas Kim

Dentium announced that it has decided to cancel all of its 2.44 million treasury shares (22% of its outstanding shares).
This is massive and should have a positive impact on Dentium’s share price.
Although the company reported a disappointing results in 2Q 2025 and its exports to China are slowing down, the company still generates healthy operating margins (18.9% in 2Q 2025).

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Aug 15

Daily Brief South Korea: HMM Co., Ltd., Webtoon Entertainment and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

HMM KRW 2T Tender: Full Pro-Rata Risk Assessment
HMM: Tender Offer of 8% of Outstanding Shares and Cancellation
Webtoon Entertainment: Secures a Big Contract With Disney

HMM KRW 2T Tender: Full Pro-Rata Risk Assessment

By Sanghyun Park

Watch next Monday’s premium and the share slice we can grab—these will drive hedge sizing with futures or other plays.
Premium sits in the late 10% range, above expectations; HMM’s float is tight, with 80%+ effectively locked by KDB, KOBC, NPS, and passive holders.
The tender pool is capped at ~15% of shares; with KDB taking 3–3.5%, about 4.5–5% remains available for the market.

HMM: Tender Offer of 8% of Outstanding Shares and Cancellation

By Douglas Kim

After the market close on 14 August, HMM Co., Ltd. (011200 KS) announced a tender offer of 81.8 million treasury shares (8% of outstanding shares).
An even bigger factor on HMM’s share price than this tender offer could be the continued decline in the global shipping rates which is negative on the company.
Overall, we would be cautious on HMM over the next one year. HMM also reported worse than expected operating profit in 2Q 2025 due to weaker global shipping rates.

Webtoon Entertainment: Secures a Big Contract With Disney

By Douglas Kim

Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN US) has secured a big contract with The Walt Disney Co (DIS US) including Avengers and Spider Man to become available in webtoon format.
We believe Webtoon Entertainment could grab about 20% of the global market for webtoons in 2030 which would be about $4 billion in revenues.
Assuming a net margin of 10% and a P/E multiple of 20x, it suggests market cap of $8 billion for Webtoon Entertainment by 2030 (264% upside from current levels).

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Aug 14

Daily Brief South Korea: Samsung Biologics , Hugel Inc, Jyp Entertainment and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Current Samsung Biologics Split Dynamics with Alpha Potential Both Ways
Hugel Inc (145020 KS): Strong Overseas Sales Drive 2Q Performance; Positive Outlook
JYP Entertainment: Explosive Earnings Growth in 2Q 2025

Current Samsung Biologics Split Dynamics with Alpha Potential Both Ways

By Sanghyun Park

One of the hottest local plays is gauging KRX and FSS leanings on Biologics split, which could drive short-term alpha across the three Samsung names alongside battery and HBM flows.
Short-Term focus is KRX pre-listing review and FSS registration window. Once approval and lock-up kick in, Biologics and Samsung Electronics could outperform Samsung C&T.
From a risk-hedge angle, this is a long-short alpha setup: if the split fails, Samsung C&T likely takes the hit, offering alpha potential both ways.

Hugel Inc (145020 KS): Strong Overseas Sales Drive 2Q Performance; Positive Outlook

By Tina Banerjee

Hugel Inc (145020 KS) has reported strong 2Q25 result, with all key parameters marking the highest quarterly figures in the company’s history and contributed to a record first-half performance.
Overseas revenue of toxin and derma fillers rose 21% YoY to KRW70B, accounting for 63% of the company’s total sales, boosted by robust growth in the U.S., China, and Europe.
Hugel is well-positioned to report ~20% annual revenue growth through 2027 through global expansion amid favorable industry backdrop.

JYP Entertainment: Explosive Earnings Growth in 2Q 2025

By Douglas Kim

JYP Entertainment reported an explosive growth in sales and profits in 2Q 2025. It achieved sales of 215.8 billion won (up 125.5% YoY and 6.4% higher than consensus).
JYP also had an operating profit of 52.9 billion won (up 466.5% YoY and 23.3% higher than consensus in 2Q 2025.
JYP’s much better than expected results in 2Q 2025 confirms its ability to monetize the growing popularity of K-Pop globally.

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Aug 13

Daily Brief South Korea: Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200, Samsung Electronics, KT Corp, LS Corp and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Stealthy Long-Short Flow Playing Out Via Local KOSPI 200 Covered Call ETFs
Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) Tactical Outlook : New Rally After Large Pullback?
KT Corp: Excellent 2Q 2025 Earnings Driven by Market Share Gain and Improving AI/Cloud Businesses
LS Corp: Treasury Share Cancellation of 171 Billion Won

Stealthy Long-Short Flow Playing Out Via Local KOSPI 200 Covered Call ETFs

By Sanghyun Park

Covered call ETFs ramped up KOSPI 200 weekly call selling, pushing premiums unusually low despite modest overall volume—likely a key driver behind the premium compression.
KOSPI 100 outperformed KOSPI 200 small-mid caps by 3.7%p last month, probably boosted by call-selling ETFs’ delta-hedge buying concentrated in large caps.
Watch for hedge buy flows ramping up before big events. Timing short-term longs in large caps and shorts in smaller KOSPI 200 names around these windows can yield solid alpha.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) Tactical Outlook : New Rally After Large Pullback?

By Nico Rosti

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) has been rallying for quite a while in the last few weeks, and we have been bullish on the stock since the start of the year.
At the moment the stock is very overbought according to our model, we see potential for a pullback, possibly something larger than a buy the dip.
A 2 or even a 3 weeks correction should not be ruled out at this stage, 64700 is the limit support zone we are looking at, the short profit target.

KT Corp: Excellent 2Q 2025 Earnings Driven by Market Share Gain and Improving AI/Cloud Businesses

By Douglas Kim

The most important reason for KT’s excellent results in 2Q 2025 was due to the major hacking incident at SK Telecom in May 2025.
The company’s growing AI business and successful real estate sales also contributed to the company’s improving results in 2Q 2025.
KT is likely to benefit from higher profits and returns on capital in the next couple of years as the penetration of 5G service surpasses more than 80%.

LS Corp: Treasury Share Cancellation of 171 Billion Won

By Douglas Kim

On 12 August, LS Corp (006260 KS) announced that it will cancel 1 million treasury shares (171 billion won), representing 3.1% of its outstanding shares.
This is significant, especially because the company has not cancelled any shares in the past five years. This move signals the company’s willingness to provide greater returns to its shareholders.
LS plans to increase its dividend by at least 5% annually, to reach dividend payout of at least 30% by 2030.

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South Korea Archives | Page 11 of 126 | Smartkarma

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