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South Korea Archives | Page 9 of 126 | Smartkarma

Sep 10
0

Daily Brief South Korea: Peptron, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries , Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • A Flow Play on the Market-Missed Reshuffle in KRX Bio Top 10
  • Timing the HHI–Mipo Spread Play Around the Passive Inflow Kick
  • Samsung Electronics (005930 KS): Tactical Outlook and Profit Targets
  • US Tariffs on Imports from Japan Lowered to 15% but Imports from Korea Are Unchanged at 25% – Why?

A Flow Play on the Market-Missed Reshuffle in KRX Bio Top 10

By Sanghyun Park

  • KRX BBIG Sept review: Mother index BBIG, four kids. Only Bio (adds: Peptron, PharmaResearch; deletes: Hanmi Pharm, SK Bioscience) and Game saw changes. Battery, Internet unchanged.
  • Game’s tiny AUM won’t move flows; Bio may see meaningful passive impact. Index AUM ~20B KRW: additions ~0.2x DTV inflow, deletions ~0.3–0.4x DTV outflow.
  • Clean trade setup: index flying under radar, seemingly no pre-positioning. PharmaResearch seems to have moved solo. Thursday likely sees strong ETF-driven price action; enter late morning pullback, exit before close.

Timing the HHI–Mipo Spread Play Around the Passive Inflow Kick

By Sanghyun Park

  • HHI–Mipo spread holds 3–4%; cancellation risk minimal. Market views HHI as the cleaner MASGA play vs. Mipo, keeping the spread sticky and unlikely to tighten soon.
  • Potential kicker for widening comes from passive inflows when Mipo halts, as HHI gains weight in Global Standard vs. Mipo’s Small Cap.
  • HHI may see ~4x DTV passive inflow as it absorbs Mipo; pre-announcement flows could start late October, potentially widening the swap spread ahead of the Nov 27 halt.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS): Tactical Outlook and Profit Targets

By Nico Rosti

  • Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) has been in a downtrend for 4 weeks, but it was only mildly oversold (60% prob. of reversal last Friday, at the Close).
  • After 4 weeks down, this week the stock re-started its rally, touching 71200 on Tuesday at the Close. 
  • This insight will try to define the short-term profit targets for this rally (spoiler: they are not far, at least from the TIME MODEL perspective…).

US Tariffs on Imports from Japan Lowered to 15% but Imports from Korea Are Unchanged at 25% – Why?

By Douglas Kim

  • One of the biggest events in Korea in the past week has been the uncertainty regarding the US tariffs on South Korea which remains unchanged at 25%.
  • On top of this, it was reported on 9 September that the US tariffs on Japanese goods including cars and auto parts will be lowered to 15% by 16 September.
  • If Lee’s approval rating falls to about 45% to 50% range, then there could be a greater urgency by the Korean government to finalize a trade deal with the US. 

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Sep 09
0

Daily Brief South Korea: Ecopro Co Ltd, Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200, Samsung Electronics Pref Shares and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Ecopro Co: Pursuing a PRS Deal Worth About 700 Billion Won Using Its Stake in Ecopro BM
  • Timing and Hedge Play on Korea’s Top Policy Swing—CGT Applicable Threshold
  • Global Markets Tactical Outlook: WEEKLY Recap (Sep 8 – Sep 12)

Ecopro Co: Pursuing a PRS Deal Worth About 700 Billion Won Using Its Stake in Ecopro BM

By Douglas Kim

  • Several local news outlets reported that Ecopro Co is pursuing a plan to raise about 700 billion won through a PRS agreement using its stake in Ecopro BM as collateral.
  • Ecopro BM currently has a market cap of 11.4 trillion won. A PRS worth 700 billion won (assuming no change in share price), represents 6.1% of Ecopro BM’s market cap. 
  • Although Ecopro has not officially announced this PRS deal, we believe that this is a high probability (70%-80%+) that this deal will get done in the next several weeks.

Timing and Hedge Play on Korea’s Top Policy Swing—CGT Applicable Threshold

By Sanghyun Park

  • Deputy PM Koo guided the threshold decision by month-end, likely before Chuseok; historically, Seoul drops major policy prints on Thu/Fri, pointing to 25–26 as the high-prob window.
  • Local intel points to ₩5bn; strong public pushback makes it politically locked. Traders are positioning ahead of the 25–26 window, balancing index longs with hedges.
  • FSS break-up creates regulatory uncertainty, pressuring banks and brokers. Traders appear to be pairing index longs with financials shorts, riding policy momentum while hedging sector risk.

Global Markets Tactical Outlook: WEEKLY Recap (Sep 8 – Sep 12)

By Nico Rosti

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Sep 08
0

Daily Brief South Korea: S&T Holdings, Myungin Pharmaceutical and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Regarding the Six KRX Sector Names that Ran Ahead of Friday’s Official Review Drop
  • Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Discount to Peers; Potential Succession Planning

Regarding the Six KRX Sector Names that Ran Ahead of Friday’s Official Review Drop

By Sanghyun Park

  • Six names stood out with simultaneous volume spikes and sharp pops last Friday; all Semis and Autos additions with big passive impact, while all others showed no tape action.
  • Results likely leaked early, prompting front-running on Semis and Autos adds—high passive impact names—causing Friday’s sharp volume and price spikes.
  • Early movers are mostly priced in; Thursday momentum plays still work, but Monday–Thursday morning requires caution. Focus on volume-driven flows before loading positions, long-short basket viable for other passive-impact names.

Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Discount to Peers; Potential Succession Planning

By Nicholas Tan

  • Myungin Pharmaceutical (MYUNGIN KS) is looking to raise up to US$142m in its upcoming Korean IPO.
  • It specializes in central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics and boasts an extensive product line-up of over 200 CNS products. 
  • In this note, we examine the IPO dynamics, and look at the firm’s valuation.

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Sep 06
0

Daily Brief South Korea: Gemvax & Kael, Hanwha Ocean , POSCO Holdings, SK Hynix and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • KRX September Sector Index Review Finalized: Passive Impact Read
  • A Block Deal Sale of 1.4 Trillion Won of Hanwha Ocean Shares by Hanwha Impact Partners
  • POSCO: Reviewing a Potential M&A of HMM
  • Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia

KRX September Sector Index Review Finalized: Passive Impact Read

By Sanghyun Park

  • KRX dropped its September sector rejig post-close: only Semis (₩0.96T), Autos (₩0.51T), and Healthcare (₩0.31T) matter. Lineup below.
  • AUM-Wise, Semis was key. September TMI reshuffle saw light additions, heavy deletions; otherwise, results largely matched earlier forecasts.
  • TMI reshuffle flew under the radar with little pre-positioning; ETF rebalances next Thursday could trigger notable price moves — consider long/short baskets on high-impact names.

A Block Deal Sale of 1.4 Trillion Won of Hanwha Ocean Shares by Hanwha Impact Partners

By Douglas Kim

  • Hanwha Impact Partners sold 1.4 trillion won worth of Hanwha Ocean shares in a block deal sale. 
  • Hanwha Ocean’s share price closed down at 5.4% to 112,500 won on the KRX exchange today but still 5% higher than block deal price of 107,100 won. 
  • We believe that this block deal sale of 1.4 trillion won worth of Hanwha Ocean is likely to have a near-term negative impact on Hanwha Ocean’s stock price.

POSCO: Reviewing a Potential M&A of HMM

By Douglas Kim

  • The biggest potential M&A event right now in Korea is the potential acquisition of HMM Co., Ltd. (011200 KS) by POSCO Holdings (005490 KS).
  • Overall, we believe there is a higher probability of POSCO backing out of this potential acquisition of HMM, rather than POSCO completing this M&A deal.
  • Although POSCO claims that it spends about 3 trillion won annually on logistics, the actual synergies among these three businesses (steel, rechargeable battery, and logistics) remain murky.

Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia

By Trung Nguyen

  • In today’s Morning Views publication we comment on developments of the following high yield issuers: SK Hynix
  • UST yields declined 3-6 bps yesterday, on the back of the weak ADP employment and initial jobless claims data, despite improvement in the ISM services index. The yield on the 2Y UST fell 3 bps to 3.59%, while the 10Y UST was down 6 bps at 4.16%. Equities rallied on the prospect of impending Fed rate cuts.
  • The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to a new record high of 6,502, while Nasdaq climbed 1.0% to 21,708. The market focus for today should be on the US August nonfarm payrolls.

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Sep 05
0

Daily Brief South Korea: KOSDAQ 150 Index, SK Innovation, SK Bioscience , Harim Holdings, SK Hynix and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Potential Spillover Trades from Next Month’s KOSDAQ150 Weeklies Launch
  • Tracing Korea’s Flow Dynamics: Short-Term Sector Rotation Plays
  • SK Chemicals: A Potential EB Issue of 240 Billion Won Using Its Stake in SK Bioscience
  • Harim Holdings – EB Issue of Its Treasury Shares for 143 Billion Won
  • Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia

Potential Spillover Trades from Next Month’s KOSDAQ150 Weeklies Launch

By Sanghyun Park

  • KRX plans to list KOSDAQ150 weekly options next month, likely October 27, and is lining up market makers to ensure two-way liquidity from day one.
  • Early volumes for KOSDAQ150 weeklies will be thin, making MMs cautious, but some may step in despite risks.
  • Early KOSDAQ150 weeklies could trigger spillover trades, as thin volumes and active MMs lead to IV–spot gaps, price dislocations, and triangular arbitrage opportunities.

Tracing Korea’s Flow Dynamics: Short-Term Sector Rotation Plays

By Sanghyun Park

  • Korea’s seeing classic sector rotation: H1 hot money is exiting shipbuilding and defense ETFs, with 7% of AUM out in a week, as traders hunt the next wave of flows.
  • Short-Term plays focus on two angles: policy-driven sectors like retail/dividends, and less-run names. Secondary batteries lead flows, topping local sector ETF net inflows lately.
  • Sector rotation trades focus on Sept 11 rebalances: TIGER Secondary Battery TOP 10 and KRX Semis. Long-short setups on top names plus rotation flows could spark notable price moves.

SK Chemicals: A Potential EB Issue of 240 Billion Won Using Its Stake in SK Bioscience

By Douglas Kim

  • Hankyung Business Daily reported today that SK Chemicals (285130 KS) is pursuing an issuance of exchangeable bonds (EB) worth 240 billion won using its stake in SK Bioscience (302440 KS). 
  • SK Chemicals has not officially announced its plans to issue such EB which is likely to have a positive impact on SK Chemicals and negative impact on SK Bioscience.
  • SK Chemicals’ market cap is now 1.1 trillion won. Its 66.4% stake in SK Bioscience is worth 2.6 trillion won. 

Harim Holdings – EB Issue of Its Treasury Shares for 143 Billion Won

By Douglas Kim

  • Harim Holdings (003380 KS) announced that it plans to sell its 14.744 million treasury shares through an issuance of EB worth 143 billion won. 
  • The EB exchange price is 9,713 won (15.6% higher than its current price). The company plans to use the EB proceeds to pay down debt and for working capital. 
  • We are NEGATIVE on Harim Holdings’ EB issue using its treasury shares as the main asset to be exchanged.

Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia

By Trung Nguyen

  • In today’s Morning Views publication we comment on developments of the following high yield issuers: SK Hynix
  • UST yields declined yesterday, as the market firmed up rate-cut expectations following the weak July JOLTS data. The UST curve bullflattened, with the yield on the 2Y UST declining 2 bps to 3.62% and the yield on the 10Y UST down 4 bps at 4.22%. Equities recovered from Tuesday’s decline, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively.
  • Fed Governor Chris Waller said that the Fed needs to start cutting rates at the next meeting. Mr Waller added that the Fed may cut rates by 100-150 bps to get towards the neutral rate, albeit “how fast we get there is going to depend on the data that comes in”.

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Sep 04
0

Daily Brief South Korea: LS Marine Solution, Korea Zinc, Myungin Pharmaceutical and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • LS Cable – To Issue an EB Worth 400 Billion Won Using LS Marine Solution as Base Asset?
  • Korea Zinc (010130 KS) – Rare Metals Rerating + TC/RC Recovery = Deep Value Setup
  • Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Domestic Leader, Partial Monetization for Founders

LS Cable – To Issue an EB Worth 400 Billion Won Using LS Marine Solution as Base Asset?

By Douglas Kim

  • Major major local media including Maekyung Business Daily and Chosun Daily have reported that LS Cable & System is pushing forward with an EB worth 400 billion won. 
  • The target stock to be used in the EB is LS Cable’s shares in its subsidiary LS Marine Solution. 
  • LS Marine Solution is one of the largest marine engineering companies in Korea, specializing in the installation and maintenance of submarine cables, offshore wind infrastructure, and marine energy systems.

Korea Zinc (010130 KS) – Rare Metals Rerating + TC/RC Recovery = Deep Value Setup

By Rahul Jain

  • Korea Zinc (010130 KS) is the world’s largest merchant zinc smelter, with growing exposure to high-margin rare metals (Sb/In/Bi).
  • Management is executing the “Troika Drive” strategy—expanding copper and nickel sulfate capacity while scaling strategic minerals and recycling.
  • Stock trades at ~5x 2027E earnings and ~4.7x EV/EBITDA, a clear discount to peers, key risks remain rare metal price volatility, zinc TC/RC recovery timing

Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Domestic Leader, Partial Monetization for Founders

By Nicholas Tan

  • Myungin Pharmaceutical (MYUNGIN KS)  is looking to raise up to US$142m in its upcoming Korean IPO.
  • Myungin Pharm specializes in central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics, with an extensive product line-up of over 200 CNS products. 
  • In this note, we provide updates on the firm’s past performance.

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Sep 03
0

Daily Brief South Korea: SK Square , Kakaopay , Samsung Electronics and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Holdco NAV Discount Compression Play on Korea’s Next Policy Narrative: Mandatory Tender Offers
  • Alipay: Issuing EB Worth 627 Billion Won Backed By Its Shares in Kakao Pay [A Quasi Block Deal Sale]
  • Alpha Generation Through Share Buybacks in Korea: Bi-Monthly (July and August 2025)

Holdco NAV Discount Compression Play on Korea’s Next Policy Narrative: Mandatory Tender Offers

By Sanghyun Park

  • Korean equities are stalled; macro catalysts are absent. Street focus shifts from treasury share cancellations to next year’s mandatory tender offers, now seen as the top policy driver.
  • Pre-MTO trades focus on holding companies with wide NAV discounts or low controlling stakes, front-running policy-driven re-ratings before minority shareholders capture control premiums.
  • Focus on 32 Korean holding companies >KRW 500B; those with wide NAV discounts and lighter controlling stakes—SK’s holding companies, Samsung C&T, Hanwha, LG, LS—are prime re-rating plays.

Alipay: Issuing EB Worth 627 Billion Won Backed By Its Shares in Kakao Pay [A Quasi Block Deal Sale]

By Douglas Kim

  • Alipay (second largest shareholder of Kakaopay (377300 KS)) is issuing an overseas exchangeable bonds (EB) worth 627 billion won (backed by its shares in Kakao Pay).
  • The exchange price of the EB is 54,744 won (4.5% discount to current price).  Total amount of EB issue is 627 billion won ($450 million). 
  • This deal is basically a quasi-block deal. Alipay is trying to unload some of its stake in Kakao Pay to improve its finances.

Alpha Generation Through Share Buybacks in Korea: Bi-Monthly (July and August 2025)

By Douglas Kim

  • In this insight, we discuss the alpha generation through companies that announced share buybacks in the Korean stock market in July and August 2025.
  • We provide a list of 29 companies in the Korean stock market that have announced share buyback programs in July and August 2025.
  • There were three companies with more than 1 trillion won in market cap that announced share buybacks in the past two months with at least 1% of outstanding shares.

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Sep 02
0

Daily Brief South Korea: Samsung Life Insurance, KT&G Corporation, Hanwha Solutions and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Clearing up the FSS’s Sudden Call on Samsung Life’s Samsung Elec Stake Accounting Shift
  • KT&G: Selling 57 Real Estate Properties to Generate 1 Trillion Won in Additional Cash Flow
  • Increasing Probability of Hanwha Group Selling Its 8% Stake in Korea Zinc

Clearing up the FSS’s Sudden Call on Samsung Life’s Samsung Elec Stake Accounting Shift

By Sanghyun Park

  • Today’s FSS IFRS17 ruling is an accounting fix (equity vs. liability), not the Samsung Life Law, which is a regulatory cap on affiliate stakes based on market value.
  • The FSS ruling signals Samsung Life doesn’t need to treat its Samsung Electronics stake as a forced-sale liability, lowering near-term sale risk.
  • This eases the overhang, delays potential stake moves, and reinforces the relative underperformance setup on Samsung C&T highlighted in earlier posts.

KT&G: Selling 57 Real Estate Properties to Generate 1 Trillion Won in Additional Cash Flow

By Douglas Kim

  • KT&G announced that it is selling numerous properties nationwide as well as financial assets, aiming to generate about 1 trillion won in additional cash flow.
  • KT&G has started to sell off a number of real estate properties in Seoul, Bundang, Daegu, Sejong, Busan, and North Chungcheong, and other parts of Korea through public bidding process.
  • Four key catalysts with KT&G include an increasing probability of cigarette price hike, asset sales of non-core properties/improving corporate governance, high dividend yields, and profitable growth of core tobacco business. 

Increasing Probability of Hanwha Group Selling Its 8% Stake in Korea Zinc

By Douglas Kim

  • There has been an increasing probability of the Hanwha Group selling its stake in Korea Zinc (010130 KS) mainly due to increasing burden of its petrochemical affiliates.
  • For now, the Hanwha Group has denied all news regarding its potential sale of stake in Korea Zinc.
  • In our view, the timing of this potential sale in Korea Zinc by Hanwha Group is less likely in 2025 but could occur in 2026/2027. 

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Sep 01
0

Daily Brief South Korea: Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200, Kcc Corp and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Is NPS Really Going for Board Seat Play Via Cumulative Voting? Field Check on This Narrative
  • Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (29 August to 12 September 2025)

Is NPS Really Going for Board Seat Play Via Cumulative Voting? Field Check on This Narrative

By Sanghyun Park

  • Short-Term, pinpointing exact tickers off this NPS/cumulative voting narrative is tough—activism risk is real, but predicting moves in governance-sensitive names is still premature.
  • NPS may go aggressive, potentially sparking a market-wide narrative. If limited activism unwinds, Korean stocks could see a broad re-rate, beyond just individual governance names.
  • Tactically, consider enhanced setups in these names under a passive framework, while closely monitoring governance developments and NPS-driven activism for actionable alpha in individual tickers.

Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (29 August to 12 September 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 (29 August to 12 September 2025).
  • Shipbuilding remained the best performing sector in the past two weeks. Rechargeable battery was the worst performing sector. 
  • Top 10 picks in this bi-weekly include KCC Corp, KT&G, LG Uplus, Samsung Life Insurance, Paradise, Nongshim, LG Chem, HD Hyundai Mipo, SK Inc, and CJ Corp. 

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Aug 31
0

Daily Brief South Korea: Gemvax & Kael and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Gemvax & Kael – Rights Offering of 249 Billion Won

Gemvax & Kael – Rights Offering of 249 Billion Won

By Douglas Kim

  • On 29 August, Gemvax & Kael (082270 KS) (Gemvax) announced a rights offering capital raise of 249 billion won.
  • Gemvax will issue 6.7 million new shares in this rights offering, representing 16% of its outstanding shares. 
  • The expected rights offering price is 37,100 won which is 13.4% lower than current price. We are negative on this rights offering. 

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