South Korean Investors Ramp Up Bets on China Tech Stocks and ETFs

South Korean investors increased their holdings of China-related stocks and ETFs in mid-July, with Semiconductors and AI names drawing the heaviest buying, according to Jiemian News. In the week of July 13 to July 19, Cambricon led A-share purchases with a net buy of $2.8577 million, while SMIC, Montage Technology, Hua Hong Semiconductor and ACM Research also drew net inflows of more than $1 million each.

Over the month from June 20 to July 20, Luxshare Precision topped South Korean A-share buying with a net inflow of $6.4571 million, followed by Cambricon with $3.1986 million. In Hong Kong, South Korean investors bought Premia China STAR50 ETF for $3.1729 million in the latest week and bought more than $3 million of Global X China Semiconductor ETF; over the past month, the ETF drew $15.9148 million in net inflows.

For the first half of 2026, South Korean investors bought a net $2.819 billion of China assets through stocks and ETFs, including $678 million in A shares, up 130.55% year on year. In Hong Kong, SMIC was the top stock with $85.46 million in net buying, while MiniMax ranked second at about $66.65 million and Alibaba ranked third. Global X China Semiconductor ETF was the most popular sector ETF with $42.3946 million in net buying, and Huaxia CSI 300 ETF took in $18.3417 million.

Jiemian News said the flows coincided with a sharp correction in South Korea's market after the KOSPI index had risen more than 100% in the first half. The index later fell from a record 9,385 points to 6,820 points, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropped more than 30% over the past month. Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered and Morgan Stanley also raised their views on China stocks, and Citigroup on July 20 upgraded China equities in emerging-market allocation to overweight.