Regulator set to sanction MBK over Homeplus handling

The Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea's financial watchdog, decided to recommend disciplinary actions against private equity giant MBK Partners on Thursday, reportedly including a suspension from duties. The sanction will be finalized through approval by the Financial Services Commission. The FSS did not disclose the level of the recommended sanction on the day. But sources familiar with the matter say the watchdog decided to maintain its previous recommendation to suspend MBK Partners

2026-07-03 14:31:52:00

Kospi tumbles 8% as AI demand fears hit chip stocks

South Korea's benchmark Kospi tumbled nearly 8 percent on Thursday, led by sharp losses in heavyweight chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, tracking an overnight sell-off in US technology stocks as investors grew increasingly concerned about a slowdown in chip demand. The index fell below the 8,000-point mark at the open, triggering a sell-side sidecar, a five-minute curb on program trading, at 9:07 a.m. Although it briefly recovered above the threshold during intraday trading, it ultima

2026-07-02 15:10:00:00

Who rules Kospi? Samsung, SK hynix locked in battle for No. 1

Samsung Electronics' 26-year reign as the benchmark Kospi's most valuable company came to an end on June 22, when its crosstown rival SK hynix briefly overtook the tech giant in market capitalization. While Samsung Electronics' lead remains solid when preferred shares, worth roughly 165 trillion won ($106 billion), are included in its valuation, SK hynix's surge on a common-share basis has nevertheless challenged its long-standing dominance at the top of Korea's equity market. The shift was driv

2026-07-01 14:53:46:00

Mirae Asset denies communication error behind SpaceX IPO miss

Mirae Asset Securities on Wednesday denied a Bloomberg media report that claimed it failed to receive shares in SpaceX's initial public offering after not submitting binding orders, labeling it "defamatory." A Bloomberg report on Tuesday suggested that Mirae Asset, one of the syndicate members in the blockbuster listing, did not secure a single share of Elon Musk's rocket company following a "misunderstanding" in the process. The brokerage firm said the report was factually inaccurate, adding th

2026-07-01 10:56:36:00

Korean stock market braces for NPS rebalancing sell-off

The South Korean stock market faces a potential supply overhang as the National Pension Service, the world's third-largest pension fund by total assets, is expected to rebalance its domestic stock holdings from Wednesday, fueling concerns over a sizable sell-off. Though the benchmark Kospi's blistering rally is expected to have pushed its domestic equity weighting well above target levels, the pension fund had deferred rebalancing through the end of June, allowing it to maintain its expanded sto

2026-06-30 15:07:25:00

SK hynix ADR listing could attract W7tr in passive inflows: Mirae Asset

SK hynix's plan to begin trading American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq could lift its valuation to a new level, attracting an estimated 7 trillion won ($4.5 billion) in passive fund inflows, according to Mirae Asset Global Investments. "While SK hynix has long traded at a valuation discount due to its limited access to global investors, an ADR listing would significantly improve its accessibility to US institutional investors and passive funds," Jung Ui-hyeon, head of ETF management at Mira

2026-06-29 14:54:27:00

Why Korea’s chip-heavy stock market isn’t overheating

The South Korean benchmark Kospi's more-than 50 percent exposure to the country's top two chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung Electronics is not excessive when viewed against the sector's robust earnings outlook, according to Park Yeon-ju, head of research at Mirae Asset Securities. "This is not a case of a fundamentally flawed market dynamic. On the contrary, earnings of the two chipmakers have improved so dramatically that valuations still do not fully capture the extent of the fundamental gains,"

2026-06-28 14:34:35:00

Mirae Asset marks 20 years of ETF growth

Mirae Asset Global Investments is marking the 20th anniversary of its exchange-traded fund business, which has become a major growth engine for the asset manager, the company said Thursday. Its first ETF products, the Tiger Semiconductor ETF and the Tiger Banking ETF, were launched in June 2006, meaning 20 years have passed since the products were incorporated into Mirae Asset's business portfolio. Over that period, the asset manager has broadened its lineup to include products tracking major US

2026-06-25 15:20:30:00

Samsung ADR could spark fresh rerating: KB Securities

With SK hynix shares surging after the chipmaker unveiled plans to list American depositary receipts, Samsung Electronics could see a fresh rerating if it pursues a similar move, KB Securities said Thursday. Shares of SK hynix have rallied on optimism surrounding its planned Nasdaq ADR listing, briefly overtaking Samsung Electronics earlier this week to become South Korea's most valuable listed company by market capitalization. Samsung Electronics could also benefit from a US ADR listing, which

2026-06-25 15:06:18:00

Kospi suffers biggest selloff since March

The South Korean benchmark Kospi dived nearly 10 percent on Tuesday, marking the second-largest daily decline of the year. The Kospi fell 9.99 percent to close at 8,203.84. After opening at 9,083.54, down 0.34 percent from the previous session, it traded flat in early dealings before turning sharply lower around noon, eventually closing at its intraday low as losses deepened. The nearly 10 percent decline was the second-largest daily fall on the Kospi this year, after a 12.06 percent drop on Mar

2026-06-23 15:22:21:00