Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
KRX, Hong Kong Exchanges unveil joint chip index targeting global investors
Korea Exchange headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap
By Park Han-sol
The Korea Exchange (KRX), in partnership with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), unveiled a joint semiconductor index tracking leading chipmakers from Korea and Hong Kong, Tuesday, offering global investors a new cross-border investment vehicle tied to Asia’s key tech markets.
The newly launched HKEX KRX Semiconductor Index allows investors to gain simultaneous exposure to chip manufacturers from both economies through a single benchmark.
The joint index comes amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom that has fueled growing interest in Korean chipmakers among mainland Chinese and international investors who have been channeling overseas investments through Hong Kong.
In response to such rising demand, the two exchanges developed the benchmark to meet the requirements of ETF (exchange-traded fund) Connect — the Hong Kong-China cross-border ETF trading scheme, which has recorded a trading volume of 1.4 trillion won ($950 million).
The HKEX KRX Semiconductor Index consists of 30 companies in total, including 15 key semiconductor firms from each market.
To comply with ETF Connect requirements, the index will maintain a 60 percent weighting for Hong Kong-listed stocks and 40 percent for Korean stocks through regular rebalancing.
The Korean portion will draw from the constituents of the KRX’s index of top 15 semiconductor leaders, while the Hong Kong segment will consist of emerging semiconductor-related stocks selected by HKEX.
KRX said that if ETFs based on the joint index are listed in Hong Kong, they are expected to enhance global investor access to Korean equity markets.
The Korean bourse added that it plans to work closely with HKEX and local asset managers to support the listing and trading of such ETFs, further broadening international investment channels.