The KOSPI is displayed on a monitor in the dealing room at Hana Bank’s headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 21st. Yonhap News
Samsung Group affiliates are reshaping the upper ranks of South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index, with five of them — Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Biologics (207940.KS), Samsung Life Insurance (032830.KS) and Samsung C&T — now among the top 10 by market capitalization. A U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund focused on Samsung affiliates is also set to launch, raising expectations for wider foreign inflows into the related stocks.
Among the top 10 KOSPI stocks by market value, excluding preferred shares, five are Samsung Group affiliates, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 21st. Samsung Electronics held the No. 1 spot, Samsung Electro-Mechanics ranked fourth, and Samsung Biologics, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T placed seventh through ninth. Samsung affiliates accounted for half of the top 10.
The affiliates also stood out in share-price gains this year. From January 2 to the 21st of this month, Samsung Electronics rose 119% and Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 387%. Over the same period, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T gained 110% and 61.4%, respectively. Samsung Electronics preferred shares also surged 119% on hopes for expanded shareholder returns.
The broad strength of Samsung Group stocks reflects investment demand once concentrated in Samsung Electronics spreading across its affiliates. As the benefits of expanding artificial intelligence (AI) investment extended beyond chips to components, Samsung Electro-Mechanics climbed into the top ranks, while Samsung Biologics, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T raised their valuations on earnings growth and expectations of larger shareholder returns.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics, in particular, is being lifted by expectations of an industry recovery driven by rising demand for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) used in AI servers. Samsung Biologics has drawn attention for the growth potential of its biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business, while observers are watching forecasts that Samsung Life Insurance will increase its dividends this year and next on the strength of expanded capital capacity.
The channels for U.S. investors to access Samsung Group stocks are also set to widen. U.S. asset manager Roundhill Investments will launch an active ETF focused on Samsung Group affiliates. The product will hold Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Biologics, among others, allocating relatively higher weightings to stocks with larger market values.
Investor sentiment toward Samsung Group stocks is also recovering at home. The KODEX Samsung Group fund saw net outflows of 55.2 billion won over the past month (July 21 to August 20), but 5 billion won flowed in over the past week, turning fund flows to net inflows. “The portfolio drawing attention includes Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s leading chipmaker; Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which is gaining global attention amid a boom in MLCCs for AI servers; and Samsung SDI, which is expected to see sales growth centered on energy storage systems,” said Moon Hyun-wook, a manager at Samsung Asset Management. “It is one of the key vehicles for investing broadly in the leading companies driving Korea’s economy and the domestic stock market.”