South Korea may cap leveraged ETF investments for retail investors, media reports say

SEOUL, July 28 : South Korea's top financial regulator said on Tuesday that authorities would consider a cap on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETF) investments for retail investors if needed, local media reports said.

Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, told a meeting with local brokerages and asset managers in Seoul that the regulator would review and prepare additional measures to curb the demand for the ETF products, such as putting a cap on total value of investments for each individual.

The Korean regulator last week raised the cash deposit required for retail investors to invest such ETFs, tied mostly to either of the country's two biggest stocks and semiconductor makers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Shares of Samsung Electronics plunged as much as 9.7 per cent in Seoul on Tuesday on concerns that the Korean memory-chip maker may lose market shares to Chinese rival CXMT and over financing risks tied to AI infrastructure spending.

Shares of peer SK Hynix, which recently listed its American Depositary Receipts in the U.S., slumped as much as 11.2 per cent on Tuesday in Seoul. The ADR fell 10 per cent on Nasdaq on Monday to below its IPO price.

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