South Korea Archives | Page 19 of 126

Jun 04

Daily Brief South Korea: Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

KOSPI 200 Update: Market Moves After Lee Jae-Myung’s Victory

KOSPI 200 Update: Market Moves After Lee Jae-Myung’s Victory

By Nico Rosti

Lee Jae-myung’s is projected to win the Presidential Elections in South Korea. The Democratic Party of Korea candidate said he wants to revive the economy and stabilize the stock market.
At the moment of writing (around midnight Singapore time) the KOSPI 200 INDEX‘s reaction is positive, the futures are rising towards the most recent, last week highs (363).
This is a quick review of our most recent KOSPI 200’s tactical setups, in light of the political news coming out of the polls.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

Jun 03

Daily Brief South Korea: HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Samsung Biologics , Kcc Corp, Samsung C&T, Danggeun Market, Classys and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

HD Hyundai: Will It Increase Ownership Stake In HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering?
FnGuide Top 10 & Equal Weight Index Rebalance Preview: Outperformance Continues
PBR 0.8x Law — What Is It, and Why Might It Spark a Classic Post-Election Korea Momentum Trade?
An Update on Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-Yong and His Family Members’ Inheritance Taxes
Initial Thoughts on the Karrot (Danggeun) IPO (Largest Used Goods E-Commerce Platform in Korea)
Classys (214150 KS): Solid Start to 2025; Global Expansion Continues; Stake Sale Overhang to Remain

HD Hyundai: Will It Increase Ownership Stake In HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering?

By Douglas Kim

There has been an increasing speculation of HD Hyundai increasing its stake in HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) in 2025.
There are two main reasons why HD Hyundai could increase its stake in HD KSOE.
They include HD KSOE contributing higher percentage of dividend income and continued full-fledged recovery of the operating profits of the HD HHI and HD Hyundai Mipo.

FnGuide Top 10 & Equal Weight Index Rebalance Preview: Outperformance Continues

By Brian Freitas

There could be 2 changes for the FnGuide Top 10 Index and 1 change for the FnGuide Top 10 Equal Weight Index in June.
There will be capping inflows for Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), capping outflows for SK Hynix (000660 KS) and funding outflows for the other index constituents.
A long adds/ short deletes trade has performed well historically for the FnGuide Top 10 Index with positive performance till implementation followed by reversion post implementation in most cases.

PBR 0.8x Law — What Is It, and Why Might It Spark a Classic Post-Election Korea Momentum Trade?

By Sanghyun Park

Listed companies trading below 0.8x P/B may be taxed like unlisted ones—based on book value, with a floor set at 80% of NAV regardless of calculated valuation.
Momentum is spreading beyond holdcos, with local desks eyeing low-PBR, high treasury share names. Attached is an Excel with Q1 PBRs and Q4 treasury ratios for all listed stocks.
We could target direct succession names like SK Inc. or go broader, screening by treasury share % and P/B discount—likely the preferred route given Korea’s post-election momentum playbook.

An Update on Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-Yong and His Family Members’ Inheritance Taxes

By Douglas Kim

This insight provides an update on the inheritance tax payment requirement by the Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-Yong and his family members.
Lee Jae-Yong has a final installment of 480 billion won in inheritance taxes to be paid in April 2026.
Once Lee makes the final inheritance tax payment next year, he can start to reinvest his dividend income in various Samsung Group affiliates including Samsung C&T.

Initial Thoughts on the Karrot (Danggeun) IPO (Largest Used Goods E-Commerce Platform in Korea)

By Douglas Kim

Danggeun (Karrot) is the largest used goods e-commerce marketplace in Korea. There have been some local reports that the company could complete its IPO as early as 2025.
In the private market, some shares of Karrot were put up for sale recently, and the valuation of the company ranged 2.5 trillion won 2.7 trillion won.
The company has tremendously scaled up its business in the past couple of years, in terms of sales and profits.

Classys (214150 KS): Solid Start to 2025; Global Expansion Continues; Stake Sale Overhang to Remain

By Tina Banerjee

Classys (214150 KS) reported stellar performance for 1Q25, with record-high quarterly sales and operating profit. 1Q25 revenue grew 53% YoY to KRW77B, while operating profit increased 46% YoY to KRW39B.
Recently, Volnewmer got approval in Europe. Ultraformer MPT is expected to obtain European approval in July. Next-generation new product launch in the domestic market is expected in July.
Classys reaffirmed 2025 revenue guidance of KRW340–360B, up 39–48% YoY. Bain Capital’s recent stake sales in the company via a discounted block deal raises concern.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

Jun 02

Daily Brief South Korea: Woori Financial Group and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Korean Banks; Presidential Election Drives Positive View on Hana (086790 KS) And Woori (316140 KS)

Korean Banks; Presidential Election Drives Positive View on Hana (086790 KS) And Woori (316140 KS)

By Victor Galliano

The “Value Up” initiative which kicked off in February 2024 has been intended to bring about corporate governance and market reforms which minority and especially foreign investors have long sought
So far, these voluntary reforms have brought positive albeit limited benefits to South Korean equities; presidential elections, with potential legislative change, should act as a positive valuation driver
We reiterate our positive views on Woori and Hana Financial which are the top banks based on our scorecard; these attributes are due to attractive valuations and balance sheet credentials

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

Jun 01

Daily Brief South Korea: Aurora World, Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Korea Small Cap Gem #35: Aurora World
Kospi Index Options Weekly (May 26 – 30): Index Surges as Call Demand Drives Vol Higher

Korea Small Cap Gem #35: Aurora World

By Douglas Kim

Aurora World is best known for its plush toys (Palm Pals and YooHoo & Friends). It is increasingly trying to leverage its toy character brands to expand into digital contents.
What makes Aurora World so interesting is its excellent fundamentals and deeply discounted valuations relative to The Pinkfong Company (IPO in 2H25) and SAMG Entertainment.
Aurora World generated more than 80% of its sales in overseas markets including the United States, U.K., and Hong Kong.

Kospi Index Options Weekly (May 26 – 30): Index Surges as Call Demand Drives Vol Higher

By John Ley

Kospi rallied strongly this week, reaching 8-month highs and showing strong relative strength as other indices stalled out.
Volatility firmed up across the board amid sharp price action and strong demand for Calls.
Volatility dynamics this week differed notably from recent directional moves.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

May 31

Daily Brief South Korea: CosmoAM&T , SK Hynix, Samyang Foods and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

An Off-Radar One-Day Passive Flow Trading Play from the KOSPI 200 Sector Indices
Samsung Still in the Woods, SK Hynix Still Ahead. China Semi News (Huawei)
Korean F&B: Focus on Companies With Strongest Export Growth

An Off-Radar One-Day Passive Flow Trading Play from the KOSPI 200 Sector Indices

By Sanghyun Park

June’s rebalance brings rare moves in key sector indices: HD Hyundai Marine Solution (443060 KS) joins Heavy Industry, while Cosmo AM&T (005070 KS) exits IT.
TIGER flows on June 12 may hit KRW 6B (HD Marine) and KRW 4B (Cosmo), implying 0.3–0.6x DTV impact — notable given both names’ low liquidity.
KOSPI 200 flows may fade early, but TIGER sector flows remain stealthy, raising odds of flow-driven price action on June 12 — a potential long-short day trade setup.

Samsung Still in the Woods, SK Hynix Still Ahead. China Semi News (Huawei)

By Nicolas Baratte

Samsung 3nm yields improving (50-60%) but still far behind TSMC (85-90%)
SK Hynix is finalizing HBM4 agreements with Nvidia, Samsung is still not qualified for HBM3e.
Huawei into semiconductor chemicals? The vulnerability is photo-resist, but that’s very hard to do

Korean F&B: Focus on Companies With Strongest Export Growth

By Douglas Kim

In this insight, we provide 3 major fundamental criteria for screening major Korean F&B companies.
Three major criteria include 3 years CAGR revenue growth of 5% or more, increase in net margin in 2024, and overseas sales more than 10% of total sales.
Of the 30 Korean F&B companies mentioned in this insight, only six companies meet these criteria including Samyang Foods, Orion Corp, Hitejinro, Lotte Wellfood, Daesang Corporation, and Pulmuone.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

May 30

Daily Brief South Korea: Samsung KODEX Semicon ETF, The Pinkfong Company, Industrial Bank Of Korea and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Clarifying the Universe for Key Korean Index Rebalancings in September
Initial Thoughts on The Pinkfong Company IPO (Creator of the Baby Shark Brand)
Industrial Bank Of Korea (024110 KS) Vs. Woori Financial (316140 KS): Pair Trade Signal

Clarifying the Universe for Key Korean Index Rebalancings in September

By Sanghyun Park

KRX sector indices use TMI as their universe, while KOSPI cap-tier indices use all KOSPI-listed stocks, creating a key difference in universe selection.
KRX sector indices rebalance annually after September expiry, using September TMI (reviewed end-July) as their universe—not the June version, despite common confusion.
Pre-Positioning is uncertain; market likely waits for August’s September TMI results before building positions. KOSPI cap indices use August review date, with similar flow patterns starting six weeks prior.

Initial Thoughts on The Pinkfong Company IPO (Creator of the Baby Shark Brand)

By Douglas Kim

In this insight, we provide our initial thoughts on The Pinkfong Company IPO which is expected to be completed in KOSPI in 2H 2025.
The Pinkfong Company is the creator of the Baby Shark brand. Its original “Baby Shark Dance” is the most viewed Youtube video ever (15.9 billion views as of May 2025).
The Pinkfong Company’s valuation was more than 1 trillion won in 2021 (Series B investment round).

Industrial Bank Of Korea (024110 KS) Vs. Woori Financial (316140 KS): Pair Trade Signal

By Gaudenz Schneider

The Industrial Bank Of Korea (024110 KS)/ Woori Financial Group (316140 KS) price-ratio has deviated more than two standard deviations from its one-year average, presenting a potential relative value opportunity.
The relative value opportunity can be implemented through stocks, derivatives, or as relative over-/underweights in a long only context.
This Insight discusses trade setup, statistical properties, factor exposure, and risk management strategies.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

May 29

Daily Brief South Korea: HD Hyundai , Samsung Life Insurance and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Korea Value Up: Outperformance Relative to KOSPI200 & KOSDAQ150 Likely to Attract Greater Capital
Getting a Clear Read on the Samsung Life Play to Flip into a Financial Holding Co

Korea Value Up: Outperformance Relative to KOSPI200 & KOSDAQ150 Likely to Attract Greater Capital

By Douglas Kim

Korea Value Up index is up 8.2% from 30 September 2024 to 28 May 2025, outperforming KOSPI 200 (up 3.4%) and KOSDAQ 150 (down 7.9%) in the same period.
More capital is likely to flow into the Korea Value Up index going forward. The government’s efforts to continue to push the Korea Value Up index is also positive.
The median market cap of the 27 new additions is 2,310 billion won versus 835 billion won for the 32 deletions. KRX is emphasizing on companies with higher market cap.

Getting a Clear Read on the Samsung Life Play to Flip into a Financial Holding Co

By Sanghyun Park

Samsung C&T must give up control of Samsung Life if it goes holdco—market expects a spin-off to form a new financial holdco to retain group structure.
Rerating momentum is building as Samsung C&T and Life gain from governance and credibility boosts, with the BioLogics spin-off hinting at early, proactive restructuring moves by the group.
Locals focus on Samsung C&T and Life for momentum trades, sidelining BioLogics; this trend will likely intensify post-June 3 election, shaping key market dynamics to watch.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

May 28

Daily Brief South Korea: PI Advanced Materials, HD Hyundai Marine Solution , Solid Inc, Miwon Specialty Chemical, S.M.Entertainment Co, Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

My Take on June KS200, KQ150 & Value-Up Index Rebal
KOSPI200 Index Rebalance: 8 Changes a Side with 2 Surprises
KOSDAQ150 Index Rebalance: 9 Changes as Fadu Ignored Again
KOSPI200 Jun25 Rebal: A Whopping 8 ADDs 8 DELETEs, At Least 1 Surprise – Some High ADV Changes
HYBE to Sell Its 9.4% Stake in SM Entertainment to Tencent Music in a Block Deal Sale
KOSPI 200 Tactical Outlook After Index Rebalancing

My Take on June KS200, KQ150 & Value-Up Index Rebal

By Sanghyun Park

June rebal results are mostly in line, but Korea District Heating’s add and PI Advanced Materials’s drop surprised; Fadu missed KQ150 likely on KRX’s qual screen.
As for Value-up Index, KRX avoided bold calls like cutting Samsung Electronics or Hanwha Aerospace, favoring stability over surprises—though this may further blur the Value-up Index’s purpose and spark criticism.
June’s KRX rebalance flow looks muted amid macro noise and politics; expect punchier post-announcement trading but watch for momentum to fade about a week before June 13.

KOSPI200 Index Rebalance: 8 Changes a Side with 2 Surprises

By Brian Freitas

There will be 8 additions and 8 deletions for the Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 (KOSPI2 INDEX) at the next rebalance to be implemented at the close on 12 June.
The inclusion of Korea District Heating (071320 KS) is a surprise and leads to an extra deletion – all the other adds are exactly in line with forecasts.
The list of adds has been stable for the last few months and the stocks have outperformed the deletes and the KOSPI2 INDEX since the start of the review period.

KOSDAQ150 Index Rebalance: 9 Changes as Fadu Ignored Again

By Brian Freitas

There are 9 changes for the KOSDAQ 150 Index (KOSDQ150 INDEX) in June. Most of the adds and all of the deletes were forecast.
The index committee have used their discretion and kept Fadu (440110 KS) and Snh Inc (051980 KS) out of the index for yet another rebalance – no reason provided.
There’s been little movement in the relative performance of the adds/deletes the last few months. The announcement of the changes could see the stocks move over the next few weeks.

KOSPI200 Jun25 Rebal: A Whopping 8 ADDs 8 DELETEs, At Least 1 Surprise – Some High ADV Changes

By Travis Lundy

The June 2025 index review results for the KOSPI Indices were announced after the close on Tuesday 27th May 2024.
There will be eight ADDs and eight DELs for KOSPI 200 during the June 2025 index rebal event. Some have high impact but round-trip flow is about US$175mm.
We were expecting six ADDs and six DELs. All of those turned out to be correct but there were some surprises (more ADDs and DELs than we expected). Explained below.

HYBE to Sell Its 9.4% Stake in SM Entertainment to Tencent Music in a Block Deal Sale

By Douglas Kim

On 27 May, HYBE announced that it will sell its 9.4% in S.M.Entertainment (2.21 million shares) for about 243 billion won (US$145 million) to Tencent Music Entertainment.
HYBE’s sale of its stake in SM Entertainment is expected to take place on Friday (30 May) after the market close through an after hours block deal trade.
The block deal sale of SM Entertainment by HYBE to Tencent is likely to have a negative impact on SM Entertainment’s shares mainly due to large share price discount (15.3%).

KOSPI 200 Tactical Outlook After Index Rebalancing

By Nico Rosti

Korea Exchange announced its KOSPI 200 rebalance changes on 27 May, Sanghyun Park and Douglas Kim wrote extensively about this, here we want to focus purely on the tactical strategy.
The KOSPI 200 INDEX pulled back last week, then surged on Monday and stagnated on Tuesday, the index has plenty of room to go higher according to our model.
According to our model, the number of rallies vastly offset the number of pullbacks when this pattern is encountered (=pullbacks are rare), this could be read as a bullish indication.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

May 27

Daily Brief South Korea: LS Marine Solution, Dowooinsys, Coupang and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

LS Marine Solution: Rights Offering Capital Raise of 278 Billion Won
LS Marine Solution’s Rights Deal Is Serving up a Pretty Rare Arbitrage Hunting Ground
Dowoo Insys IPO Valuation Analysis
Coupang: The Taiwan Market Expansion Can Help Create Significant Long-Term Value!

LS Marine Solution: Rights Offering Capital Raise of 278 Billion Won

By Douglas Kim

After the market close on 26 May, LS Marine Solution (060370 KS) announced that it plans to conduct a capital raise worth 278.3 billion won.
LS Marine Solution plans to issue 19.57 million new shares in this capital raise, which represents 60% of its outstanding shares.
Despite the company’s strong sales and profit growth, LS Marine Solution’s valuation multiples may be a bit too aggressive, especially with the major rights offering that will dilute existing shareholders.

LS Marine Solution’s Rights Deal Is Serving up a Pretty Rare Arbitrage Hunting Ground

By Sanghyun Park

This raise stands out with a near-60% issuance ratio—fat rights per share make pre-positioning before ex-date a compelling trade with solid pickup potential.
LS Cable holds 66.75% and has been steadily upping its stake—likely all-in on this raise, which adds serious anchor support and puts a strong floor under the rights.
Skip chasing rights—this setup favors buying shares pre–ex-rights, where the embedded rights value likely beats the ex-day drop, making it a clean trade.

Dowoo Insys IPO Valuation Analysis

By Douglas Kim

Our base case valuation of Dowoo Insys is target price of 40,667 won per share, which is 27% higher than the high end of the IPO price range (32,000 won).
We used an EV/EBITDA multiple of 14.9x to value the company, which is 10% premium to the comps’ valuation multiples in 2024.
The decline in operating margin remains one of the biggest risk factors on the company. Its major customers such as Samsung Display are putting increasing pressure to reduce its prices.

Coupang: The Taiwan Market Expansion Can Help Create Significant Long-Term Value!

By Baptista Research

Coupang’s financial performance in the first quarter of 2025 illustrates both positive advancements and ongoing challenges.
Consolidated revenue increased by 11% year-over-year, or 21% on a constant currency basis.
This growth reflects strong demand and expansion in key segments, supported by an extensive selection of products and enhancements in their delivery service.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

May 26

Daily Brief South Korea: Samsung Biologics and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Clarifying a Few Points of Confusion Surrounding the Samsung Biologics Spin-Off

Clarifying a Few Points of Confusion Surrounding the Samsung Biologics Spin-Off

By Sanghyun Park

Will the newly listed spinco also IPO Samsung Bioepis? That’s a textbook ECO — and could spark shareholder value dilution concerns, regulatory pushback, or even a potential KRX block.
The 8% dip looks tied to IPO fears around Bioepis. If Samsung hard-locks its no-IPO stance and FSS signs off, a near-term bounce in Biologics could be in play.
Post-Listing, watch for Samsung C&T to shift exposure—potentially boosting the surviving company’s value while capping the spinco. Sets up a compelling relative-value trade worth positioning for.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
✓ Personalised Alerts
✓ Custom Watchlists
✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

South Korea Archives | Page 19 of 126 | Smartkarma

Recent Posts

SOLUTIONS

ABOUT

LEGAL

Contact

DOWNLOAD