South Korea Archives | Page 7 of 126 | Smartkarma

• Hahn & Co, holding 21.63% of Hanon, won’t join the rights issue, raising the odds of a CJ CGV–style stock rights dump hitting the market.
• Hanon’s rights float mirrors CJ CGV (~17% post-ESOP), with Hahn & Co likely to sell, limited local demand, and potential follow-on selling pressure.
• Hanon’s 50% rights at 15% discount offer smaller float than CJ CGV, but larger deal size and weak EV sentiment create a potential CJ CGV–style arb, with SSF tradability.

• Next rebalance is Dec 12; Simmtech (222800 KS) looks set to replace Philoptics, with a KRW 0.8T market cap gap making it a high-conviction front-runner.
• Dongjin Semicam and Daeduck clear market cap but face keyword-score risk; PSK Holdings vs S&S Tech is tight — final screening will decide, so front-running carries caution.
• December rebalance AUM doubled; Simmtech and Philoptics could see ~1x DTV passive flows, likely triggering an even stronger passive price impact than last cycle.

• In this insight, we provide the top 10 stock picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the next two weeks (10 to 24 October 2025).
• Top 10 picks in this bi-weekly include Samsung Electronics, Samsung Life Insurance, LG CNS, SK Hynix, KT&G, Naver, Samsung C&T, LG Uplus, Hyundai Elevator, and SK Inc. 
• The semiconductor sector was a big winner in the past two weeks. Some of the best performing stocks in this period include SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Hanmi Semiconductor. 

• Our NAV analysis of Samsung C&T suggests implied market cap of 43 trillion won or target price of 253,146 won per share which is 28% higher than current price. 
• The biggest components of Samsung C&T’s value is its stakes in Samsung Electronics and Samsung Biologics which are worth 54.1 trillion won (161% higher than Samsung C&T’s current market cap).   
• In the past three months, the share price discrepancy between Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T is more noticeable (Samsung Electronics – up 47.3% versus Samsung C&T – up 15.9%). 

• Our base case valuation of Aimedbio is implied market cap of 882 billion won or target price of 13,256 won per share over a one year view in 2026. 
• This represents 21% upside over a one year period. Our cumulative sales and operating profit estimates from 2025 to 2029 are 11.4% and 48.3% lower than the company’s estimates, respectively.
• Aimedbio is not an easy company to value. Core investment thesis of the company is that it has an excellent technologies for antibody-based therapeutics, primarily antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

• Sanghyun Park recently posted a comprehensive insight regarding South Korea’s move toward forcing firms to cancel treasury shares. I invite you to read it if you haven’t yet.
• The KOSPI 200 index passive flows will probably be deeply impacted by this legal reform, we could see this happening soon, before the December KOSPI 200 reshuffle.
• Since funds moves could start any time, here is a quantitative-model-based analysis of the most probable trends, with a short-term focus (next 3-4 weeks).

• Sanae Taikichi will become the next Prime Minister of Japan. This is likely to have a Negative impact on the Korean automakers including Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp.
• Sanae Takaichi is a firm advocate of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” strategy to boost the economy with aggressive spending and easing monetary policy.
• The weakening JPY combined with existing tariff rate advantage versus the South Korea could further positively impact the Japanese auto makers versus the Korean auto makers. 

• T&L Co Ltd is a rapidly growing manufacturer of advanced wound care and orthopedic products, capitalizing on its specialized polymer technology. The company has demonstrated exceptional financial performance, with revenue and net income growing at a 3-year CAGR of 34.5% and 33.3%, respectively.
• Despite strong fundamentals, the company’s valuation is under pressure due to significant external risks, primarily the threat of potential U.S. tariffs which could impact profitability. This has led to a recent 29% decline in share price and significant net selling by foreign investors.
• Future growth is contingent on the successful execution of its strategic initiatives, which include aggressive expansion into European markets and diversification into new, high-growth product areas like microneedle and cannabis patches.

This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.

• KRX may preemptively adjust KOSPI 200 screening, switching from full market cap to market cap excluding treasury shares for index inclusion.
• With treasury-share cancellation likely this quarter, KRX may act before June ’26. For December KOSPI 200, we should run both full-cap and ex-treasury screens; flows could behave unusually.
• Focusing on Hanssem (009240 KS) and Taekwang (003240 KS); borderline, high treasury shares, potential KOSPI 200 exclusion, making them key flow-sensitive setups for December reshuffle.

• Aimedbio is getting ready to complete its IPO in KOSDAQ in November 2025. The IPO price range is from 9,000 won to 11,000 won per share.
• According to the bankers’ IPO price range, the expected market cap after the IPO is from 599 billion won to 732 billion won.
• Aimedbio has advanced multiple antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) candidates into preclinical and early clinical stages.

• KOSPI 200 is a Korean blue-chip index that tracks the 200 largest and most-liquid names listed in the KOSPI section of the Korea Exchange (KRX). It’s popular.
• 87% of the reference period for the December 2025 rebal is complete. We see up to 6 ADDs and 6 DELs. Obvious ADD vs Downweight trades have not worked recently.
• Of the “1.5 pairs” I liked last time which worked fundamentally, both are down hard. Trades here are rotated. 

• Our base case valuation of CMTX is implied market cap of 1 trillion won or 106,847 won per share. CMTX is a likely inclusion candidate in KOSDAQ150 index in 2026.
• Our base case valuation is based on P/E of 14.9x using our estimated net profit of 69 billion won in 2026.
• Our base case valuation is 65% higher than the high end of the IPO price range. Given the excellent upside, we have a Positive View of this IPO.

• One of the key emerging catalysts for Flitto is the rapid adoption of the company’s AI-based simultaneous interpretation solution called Live Translation by companies such as Apple.
• Global big tech companies such as Apple, Meta, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have used the service for their own events, which has accelerated its growth.
• Flitto had its best ever quarterly results in 2Q25. It had sales of 9.4 billion won (up 156% YoY). Operating margin surged from -38.5% in 2Q24 to 25.9% in 2Q25. 

• The reason why the president’s office is considering temporarily easing bank–industry separation is to facilitate funding for the 150T won National Growth Fund.
• Samsung and SK may form bank-backed JVs to fund AI semis, HBM, and data center projects, enabling flexible capital deployment across the AI semiconductor ecosystem.
• Chaebol holdings with direct AI exposure could gain smoother access to big-ticket funding, potentially sparking continued aggressive short-term flows around Samsung and SK holdings post-Chuseok.

• On 1 October, it was reported in the local media that Hahn & Co (is acquiring the management rights of SK D&D Co Ltd (210980 KS). 
• This tender offer is not likely to be successful. Less than 1/3 of the 6.96 million shares that are up for tender offer could be sold by the existing shareholders.
• We believe that the majority of the remaining investors in SK D&D want higher tender offer price.

• CMTX is getting ready to complete its IPO in KOSDAQ in 4Q 2025. The company will offer a total of 1 million shares (new shares) in this IPO. 
• The target IPO price range is 51,000 to 60,500 won per share. The projected market capitalization after listing is 473 billion to 561.2 billion won.
• CMTX began by manufacturing ceramics and sapphire components for semiconductor etching processes and has since expanded its business to include core consumable silicon components such as silicon rings and electrodes.

• Vitzrocell is a global leader in lithium primary batteries, particularly for specialized industrial and military applications, demonstrating a robust growth trajectory with a 3-year net income CAGR of 44.4%.
• The company is strategically positioned to benefit from growing demand in the smart grid, IoT, and defense sectors, driven by its technological expertise in high-temperature and long-lifespan batteries.
• A strong financial profile, characterized by high growth, solid margins, and impressive free cash flow generation, supports continued investment in R&D and strategic acquisitions to solidify market leadership.

This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.

• Youngone Corp stands as a premier global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the outdoor and athletic apparel industry, underpinned by strong, long-term relationships with leading global brands and a vast, efficient manufacturing network.
• While the company faces near-term margin pressures from rising labor costs and potential tariffs, its robust OEM order book, particularly from high-growth brands, provides a solid revenue foundation.
• The company’s strategic ‘Corporate Value-Up’ initiatives, aimed at enhancing shareholder returns by improving ROE and P/B ratios, combined with a potential earnings inflection from its Scott subsidiary, present significant long-term catalysts.

This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.

• In this insight, we provide an early look at the potential additions and deletions to KOSDAQ150 rebalance in December 2025.
• The 7 potential additions are up on average 164% YTD. The 8 potential deletion candidates are down on average 25.1% YTD. KOSDAQ is up 26% YTD.
• The average market cap of the 7 potential additions is 1,515 billion won. The average market cap of the 8 potential deletion candidates is 275 billion won.

• In this insight, we discuss numerous gap trade opportunities involving Korean preferred and common shares in 4Q 2025.
• The preferred companies’ share price discount (relative to the common shares) on the 27 pairs below was 36% at the end of September 2025.
• On a longer timeframe (3-5 years), this discount could narrow further to the 20-25% range, which provides additional opportunities for the Korean preferred shares to further make relative gains.

• LG Chem announced that it plans to complete a price return swap worth about 2 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) using its stake in LG Energy Solution as the base asset.
• This 2 trillion won PRS is likely to have a slightly positive impact on LG Chem and slightly negative impact on LG Energy Solution.
• Our NAV valuation of LG Chem suggests implied NAV per share of 369,187 won, which is 31% higher than current levels.

• In this insight, we highlight the recent pricing gap divergences of the major Korean holdcos and opcos which could provide trading opportunities in 4Q 2025.
• This was a STRONG REVERSAL of the relative share price performances of these 38 pairs in 3Q 2025 versus in 2Q 2025.
• We provide four holdco/opco pairs that have experienced noticeable divergence in the past three months and we expect closing of their gaps could occur in the next several weeks