SK Hynix set a milestone in global capital markets on the 10th (local time) by listing its American Depositary Receipt (ADR) on the Nasdaq. Priced at $149 per share (approximately 220,000 won), the deal raised about $26.5 billion (approximately 39.9 trillion won), shattering the record for the largest US listing by a foreign company, previously held by Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO in 2014.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and SK Hynix President Kwak Noh-jung personally attended the listing ceremony and bell-ringing event at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, where they outlined the company’s competitiveness and mid-to-long-term growth strategy to global investors. Ahead of trading, which began at 10:30 PM South Korea time, the book-building process attracted subscriptions exceeding seven times the shares on offer, with total subscription funds reportedly reaching approximately $171.5 billion (about 258.2 trillion won).
This ADR listing is drawing attention as a catalyst for re-evaluating SK Hynix’s corporate value beyond mere fundraising. There are expectations that it will provide an opportunity to resolve the so-called ‘Korea Discount,’ where the company has been undervalued compared to US semiconductor peers like Micron Technology due to being listed solely on the domestic exchange. SK Hynix plans to aggressively deploy the 40 trillion won war chest it has secured to accelerate the expansion of its semiconductor production capacity (CAPA).
On the day of the listing, South Korea’s domestic stock market also showed strength, buoyed by recovering semiconductor investment sentiment. The KOSPI closed up over 2% from the previous day at the 7,400 level, while the KOSDAQ finished just below the 840 mark, up more than 5%. SK Hynix shares surged over 8% to close in the 2.24 million won range, and Samsung Electronics also rose nearly 4%. During the session, a rare scene unfolded as buy-side circuit breakers were triggered on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. Foreign and institutional investors each recorded net purchases of hundreds of billions of won, driving the index higher, while retail investors took profits, net selling more than 860 billion won.
However, some voices are cautioning against excessive optimism. The semiconductor industry is a classic cyclical sector characterized by repeated booms and busts, and the fact that Big Tech companies have recently begun to consider adjusting the pace of their AI investments is cited as a burden. Indeed, even after Samsung Electronics reported record-breaking earnings, its stock price wavered on ‘semiconductor peak-out’ fears, and BNK Securities maintained a conservative view by presenting a target price for SK Hynix of 1.85 million won, lower than the current price.
Meanwhile, bank stocks are emerging as a new safe haven in the highly volatile market. On this day, South Korea’s four major financial holding companies—KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, and Woori Financial Group—closed with gains of 4% to 7%. Their combined net profit for the first half of this year is projected to exceed 11 trillion won, marking the highest first-half performance since 2020. Increased interest income from expanded corporate lending and growth in non-interest income at securities affiliates amid a stock market boom are analyzed as the backdrop for the strong results. Furthermore, with a July base rate hike by the Bank of Korea considered a fait accompli, the valuation of bank stocks—typical beneficiaries of rising rates—has been pushed even higher. Expectations for shareholder returns, with interim dividends and share buyback/cancellation plans anticipated alongside second-quarter earnings releases later this month, are also factors enhancing their investment appeal.
Market attention is expected to turn to the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Committee next week. As Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong has repeatedly mentioned the need for a base rate hike in public forums, citing inflation, growth momentum, and financial stability risks, the market atmosphere is treating a July hike as a foregone conclusion. Furthermore, the possibility of two or three additional hikes within the year is being raised. The direction of interest rates is expected to act as a direct variable not only for the temperature of bank stocks but also for the foreign exchange and supply-demand environment surrounding SK Hynix’s ADR.
Notable movements were also captured in the global competitive landscape. Reports emerged that Apple is testing products from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for use in iPhones in response to a memory semiconductor shortage. CXMT is pursuing a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the 16th to raise approximately $4.3 billion (about 6.5 trillion won), making the possibility of intensified price competition in the memory market difficult to rule out.
The market consensus is that while SK Hynix’s Nasdaq debut served as a short-term catalyst to revive semiconductor investment sentiment in South Korea’s domestic market, its mid-to-long-term success hinges on a corporate value re-evaluation in global capital markets and the direction of memory demand in the AI era. How SK Hynix, after its spectacular debut, strategically deploys its 40 trillion won war chest to overcome the ‘Korea Discount’ barrier, and how long the preference for safe-haven assets represented by bank stocks will persist, have emerged as key points to watch in South Korea’s domestic market for the second half of the year.