Mirae Asset Global Investments is launching its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Japan that concentrates investments in leading South Korean semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, through its local subsidiary. The move enhances overseas investor access to South Korean semiconductor companies that have seized leadership of the global memory market amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, while extending Mirae Asset’s feeder fund structure—which uses its domestic ETFs as underlying assets for overseas products—into the semiconductor theme.
According to the financial investment industry on the 8th, Global X Japan plans to list the “Global X Korea Semiconductor TOP10 ETF” on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 9th. Japan Exchange Group (JPX) approved the listing on the 20th of last month. A Mirae Asset Global Investments official said, “Among ETFs managed by Global X, this is the first product that invests purely in South Korean semiconductor companies.”
The ETF is a fund-of-funds structure that invests in the “TIGER Semiconductor TOP10 ETF” listed on the South Korean stock market. Japanese investor capital flows through the Tokyo-listed ETF into the domestic TIGER ETF, ultimately providing indirect exposure to South Korean semiconductor stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
The underlying index is a yen-denominated version of the “Semiconductor TOP10 Index” calculated by financial data provider FnGuide. In the index composition, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each account for 25%, totaling 50% of the weighting. The remaining half is filled by eight other South Korean semiconductor value chain companies, including SK Square, Hanmi Semiconductor, Jusung Engineering, and Isu Petasys. Actual inclusion weightings may fluctuate with stock price movements, and the index undergoes regular rebalancing twice a year in April and October.
The product launch is driven by AI-fueled memory demand expansion and the competitiveness of South Korea’s semiconductor supply chain. In the second quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix held revenue-based shares of 39.4% and 24.9% respectively in the global DRAM market, with their combined share reaching 64.3%. In the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, SK Hynix maintained its No. 1 position at 50%, while Samsung Electronics significantly boosted its share from 21% in the previous quarter to 33%, accelerating its pursuit.
This listing marks the second instance of Mirae Asset Global Investments repackaging its domestic TIGER ETFs into Japanese local products. Global X Japan listed the “Global X Nasdaq 100 Daily Covered Call ETF” on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in April this year. That product, which primarily invests in the domestic “TIGER US Nasdaq 100 Target Daily Covered Call ETF,” saw its net assets grow to approximately ¥55 billion (approximately $357.4 million) in just over four months since listing. This time, the feeder fund structure has been extended from a major US index to a South Korean semiconductor theme.
Mirae Asset’s Japanese ETF business is growing rapidly. Global X Japan was established in 2019 as Japan’s first ETF-specialized asset manager through a joint venture between Mirae Asset-affiliated Global X and Daiwa Securities Group. As of the end of June this year, assets under management reached ¥1.14 trillion (approximately $7.4 billion), surpassing ¥1 trillion (approximately $6.5 billion) for the first time. AUM has grown approximately 7.5-fold over the past three years, and the company also achieved its first annual profit since inception on a Japanese fiscal year basis, signaling that it has reached a stable trajectory in terms of profitability.
Meanwhile, investor sentiment toward semiconductor stocks on the South Korean stock market has also shown clear improvement. The previous day, the KOSPI rose on the back of OpenAI’s new AI model unveiling and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks about the arrival of the artificial general intelligence (AGI) era. As AI model competition intensifies, expectations that memory semiconductor demand including HBM will expand again triggered buying in related stocks. Samsung Electronics closed up more than 5% at the 260,000 won level (approximately $190), while SK Hynix surged more than 8% to finish at the 1.78 million won level (approximately $1,300).
With this ETF listing, Japanese investors can now gain diversified exposure to leading South Korean semiconductor stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange without needing a separate South Korean brokerage account. Demand from overseas investors seeking exposure to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which dominate the DRAM and HBM markets, is expected to be a key driver of the product’s growth.