How Hong Kong can become gateway for Korean tech stocks
Bull statues are placed in front of screens showing the Hang Seng Index outside Exchange Square in Hong Kong in this August 2023 photo. Reuters-Yonhap
CSOP Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Wang Yi / Courtesy of CSOP Asset Management
HONG KONG — Wang Yi, Chief Investment Officer at Hong Kong-based CSOP Asset Management, recalled that during past visits to Korea, his main goal was to promote Hang Seng Tech exchange-traded fund (ETF) products.
Today, the dynamic has shifted. He now invites Korean partners to come to Hong Kong to explore collaboration opportunities.
The reversal follows CSOP’s successful launch of the world’s first single-stock leveraged ETF on SK hynix, along with leveraged and inverse ETFs on Samsung Electronics, all introduced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2025.
CSOP, founded in 2008, is one of the leading ETF issuers in Hong Kong, with the second-largest assets under management (AUM). It now controls an estimated 99 percent of Hong Kong’s single-stock leveraged and inverse ETF market, which targets short-term trading and hedging strategies.
The SK hynix 2x leveraged ETF, launched in October, has approximately $8.8 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.1 billion) in AUM, while the Samsung Electronics 2x leveraged ETFs, launched in May, hold around $1.9 billion Hong Kong dollars, according to CSOP.
Initially, the firm expected Korean retail investors — known for actively trading U.S.-listed leveraged ETFs — to drive demand. Korean inflows have indeed come largely from retail, but around 90 percent of overall interest has come from global investors, particularly in Hong Kong, where the investor base includes retail traders, family offices and private banks.
For CSOP, this data reflects rising interest in Korean equities among Hong Kong-based investors. The new ETF offerings were developed in response to client demand, particularly as semiconductors emerge as a key investment theme.
Regulatory developments also played a part, as Hong Kong authorities began permitting the issuance of single-stock leveraged products last year. Such products are common in U.S. and European markets, but they were largely absent for Asian stocks until recently.
“From an investor knowledge or education perspective, people are more familiar with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix,” Wang said. “If we take U.S. products as an example, we always get the post-market news when we start trading. But within the Asia time zone, people receive news in real time — just as the Korean market does.”
CSOP Asset Management Director Lee Je-chung / Courtesy of CSOP Asset Management
CSOP plans to roll out more ETFs in Hong Kong that are easily accessible to global investors — products that can be both functional and appealing as trading tools. While the Korean government is working to improve market access, it can still be challenging for foreign investors to trade Korean stocks directly, it noted.
“An indirect but positive impact of launching these products is that we’re promoting SK hynix and Samsung Electronics to Hong Kong investors,” said Lee Je-chung, CSOP’s director in charge of international ETF strategy and business development. “We’re doing a lot of marketing activity, explaning high-bandwidth memory, their order status, etc.”
The firm’s ambition also aligns with Hong Kong’s positioning as a “super connector.” The city holds a powerful position as a capital market hub, linking global equity markets, especially those in mainland China, with the rest of the world. The investor base and capital sources are highly diverse.
“When I visit brokerage houses in other Asian countries, they mostly cover local and U.S. stocks,” Wang said. “It’s a common pattern. But now, I think it’s time to identify opportunities and create potential cooperation between different markets (for diversification).”
CSOP said it sees growing client interest in Korean sectors such as defense, shipbuilding, small- and mid-cap semiconductor stocks, and nuclear power. The firm hopes to strengthen its partnerships with Korean market players as interest grows.
Looking ahead, Lee predicts that other countries will follow suit and gradually allow single-stock leveraged ETFs, providing investors with more tools to implement dynamic strategies.
“Younger investors who are more familiar with volatility will become the main investors. And they will use these products to fulfill the investment objective,” Lee said. “We believe that leveraged and inverse products will become much wider and much deeper in the long run.”
He added Korean retail investors are known for their appetite for high-risk assets. “Korea is also reviewing a policy to permit single-stock leveraged ETFs and ETFs that track an index with triple leverage, to draw retail investors back to domestic equities amid a weakening won.”
