Mirae Asset seeks further expansion into high tech-oriented China market

Headquarters of Mirae Asset Financial Group, the parent company of Mirae Asset Securities, in downtown Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset Securities

Mirae Asset Securities is increasingly eyeing China’s listed high-tech companies as securities firms seek to diversify their U.S.-centric investment portfolios and realize higher returns in the world's second-largest economy, according to company officials, Tuesday.

The China-focused strategy comes as the country has drawn less attention than the United States from Korean stock investors despite its growth potential in the era of accelerated digital transformation.

For instance, Korea Securities Depository data showed that U.S. stocks make up more than 90 percent of the outstanding account balance of Koreans who invest in overseas stocks.

Under such circumstances, Mirae Asset Securities recently sent some of its private bankers to China on a field trip to Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other manufacturing hubs.

The companies they visited included e-commerce giant Alibaba and electric car makers BYD and XPENG.

RoboSense and UBTECH, both AI-based robotics companies, and cloud software manufacturer Kingdee Software were also on the list of their destinations.

A company PR official said that the trip was not organized on the order of Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo, as reported by some Korean media outlets.

Rather, the official highlighted that the field trip signifies Mirae Asset Securities’ “growing and urgent need to better explore the China market.”

The company has sent a total of four teams, each comprising 15 to 20 private bankers, so far this year.

Each team was selected from Mirae Asset Securities’ retail branches across the country. The selection process “was the talk of the town” in the securities industry, as participants were not necessarily top performers but included those who serve clients with heavy investments in U.S. stocks.

“The selection process was based on a belief that private bankers’ firsthand visits to the Chinese market could reshape their perception and accordingly convince clients to invest in Chinese companies,” the PR official said.

The official expressed hope that the field trip will help attract more investors to China, noting that many participants were impressed by greater-than-expected advances in China’s AI and other high technologies.

“The private bankers are likely to share their impression with their clients, and pave the way to generate more revenue from abroad,” he said.

China is one of 11 countries where Mirae Asset Financial Group, the parent company of Mirae Asset Securities, has established a foothold. The 11 include Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India and Japan.