S Korea investors accelerate allocation of Chinese assets to US$5.4b

South Korean investors accelerated allocation of assets in Hong Kong and mainland China, trading US$5.4 billion (HK$42.12 billion) worth of Hong Kong and mainland stocks so far this year, a report from Korea Securities Depository showed.

KSD said that China is positioned as the second largest overseas investment market for South Korea, followed by the US market.

The hottest stock among South Korean investors was Xiaomi (1810), with an investment of US$170 million. Following were BYD (1211) and CATL (3750), attracting US$93.1 million and US$60.9 million respectively, KSD said.

The share price of Xiaomi has increased 62 percent year-to-date, while that of BYD and CATL grew 39 percent and 26 percent year-to-date, respectively.

As the hit Labubu doll has become a global phenomenon, investors in South Korea purchased an amount of more than US$34.94 million in Pop Mart (9992), the report showed.

In the A share market, South Koreans prefer CSI Robot ETF by China Asset Management as a key increase in holdings, KSD said.

South Korean investors prefer technology and emerging companies. Accelerating allocation assets in the Hong Kong stock market was driven by both the vibrant Chinese market and the trend of the South Korean market, which saw a weaker performance in the first five months of this year, citing the analysis in the report.

HELEN ZHONG