
The Hang Seng Index opened at 25,837, down 21 points, as chip stocks surged after the PHLX Semiconductor Index jumped 8% overnight. "Memory chips will continue to be needed, so the stock price will rise over time. Rather than buying and selling repeatedly, it is better to hold on to the shares," Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, said at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Jeju Summer Forum earlier this month. The Hang Seng Tech Index opened at 4,818, up 14 points or 0.3%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index opened at 8,623, down 21 points or 0.24%. SMIC (00981.HK) surged 8.06%, while Hua Hong Grace (01347.HK), Iluvatar Corex (09903.HK) and Montage Tech (06809.HK) each opened more than 14% higher. The moves tracked the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index, which leapt more than 8% overnight as the Nasdaq gained 2.8% and the S&P 500 rose nearly 1.7%. The divergence within Hong Kong tech was notable: XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) opened 5.61% lower, MEITUAN-W (03690.HK) fell 2.86% and JD-SW (09618.HK) dropped 3.19%, while BABA-W (09988.HK) opened 2.1% higher. The selective rotation suggests investors are favoring semiconductor and hard tech names over consumer internet platforms as the AI-driven chip cycle accelerates. In South Korea, SK Hynix shares climbed nearly 30% after SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won made his first-ever personal purchase of the chipmaker's stock. According to a regulatory filing cited by The Korea Herald, Chey bought 3,620 SK Hynix shares from the open market, valued at about 4.79 billion won ($3.34 million). The transaction falls just below South Korea's five billion won threshold that would have required a 30-day advance disclosure. Chey had maintained indirect control of SK Hynix through SK Square, the chipmaker's largest shareholder with about 20% ownership. The chairman's purchase reflects confidence in memory chip fundamentals at a time when SK Hynix's U.S.-listed ADRs had fallen about 35% from their July 14 peak and were trading 15% below their $149 offering price. UBS initiated coverage of the ADRs with a Buy rating and a $204 price target, arguing the current valuation does not fully reflect the company's structurally higher memory profitability, stronger free cash flow generation and improving shareholder returns. The Hong Kong-listed leveraged products tracking SK Hynix also surged, with XL2CSOPSMSN (07747.HK) opening 14.99% higher and XL2CSOPHYNIX (07709.HK) spiking 14.98% at open. The overnight US semiconductor rally, driven by the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index's 8% jump, provided the backdrop for the Hong Kong hard tech surge. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% and the S&P 500 gained nearly 1.7%, with technology leading the advance. The strength in US chip names has been a persistent theme this year as AI infrastructure spending continues to drive demand for advanced semiconductors and memory products. For investors, the key question is whether the semiconductor strength can sustain. Chey's personal investment in SK Hynix — his first direct stake in the company — adds weight to the memory chip thesis. The AI-driven demand for memory chips continues to be the primary driver of semiconductor valuations across the region, and the chairman's conviction in the sector's long-term trajectory could support further upside in both Korean and Hong Kong-listed chip names. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

South Korea will inject KRW20 trillion ($13.9 billion) into its sovereign wealth fund for strategic investments in AI, data centers and infrastructure, sending the KOSPI up 14 percent in morning trading as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged. "The new investment arrangement aims to proactively respond to growing global interest in investing in South Korea," the government said, adding that the account will support strategic industries while providing a buffer for economic security and foreign exchange markets. The government will submit amendments to the Korea Investment Corporation Act to parliament next month, allowing the Korea Investment Corporation to establish a new account with an initial size of at least KRW20 trillion. Fund operations are scheduled to commence next year. This marks the first time the fund's investment scope has been expanded to include domestic assets. The move comes after the KOSPI plunged from a record high of 9,410 in June to 5,817, making it one of the worst-performing global indices. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which account for over 50 percent of the index, had fallen sharply during a global memory chip selloff. SK Hynix jumped 24.43 percent and Samsung Electronics rose 21.74 percent in morning trading. In Hong Kong, leveraged products tracking the two chipmakers surged even more sharply: XL2CSOPHYNIX (07709.HK), a 2x long SK Hynix product, soared 57.02 percent, while XL2CSOPSMSN (07747.HK), a 2x long Samsung product, gained 42.93 percent. The rally marks a dramatic reversal for Korean equities. Samsung Electronics had fallen from 374,000 won to 223,500 won, while SK Hynix dropped from 2.98 million won to 1.42 million won. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which tracks the biggest memory chip companies, had fallen 43 percent from its all-time high. Foreign investors sold over $62 billion of Korean stocks as of late May, according to Goldman Sachs, and the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) had dropped to $144.2 from a year-to-date high of $217. The selloff was driven by multiple factors. Investors took profits after memory and semiconductor stocks had surged triple digits from their lows last year. South Korean retail investors had borrowed heavily to buy single-stock leveraged ETFs introduced in May, buying over 14 trillion won ($9.7 billion) of these products compared with 2 trillion won from foreign investors, according to KB Financial. The government subsequently banned these ETFs, with the finance minister apologizing to investors who lost money. Geopolitical pressures also weighed on the market. The US-Iran conflict pushed Brent crude to $87 and WTI to $84, raising inflation concerns in South Korea, which imports substantial energy from the Middle East. **Government Backstop for Strategic Industries** The sovereign wealth fund expansion represents a significant policy shift. The Korea Investment Corporation, which manages the country's foreign exchange reserves, has traditionally invested only in overseas assets. Expanding its mandate to include domestic investments in AI, data centers and infrastructure marks a more active government role in supporting strategic industries. The fund's initial size of KRW20 trillion provides a meaningful backstop for the technology sector. The government's commitment to AI infrastructure investment positions South Korea as a competitor in the global AI buildout, alongside the US, China and other major economies. **What Happens Next** The amendments to the Korea Investment Corporation Act will be submitted to parliament next month, with fund operations scheduled to begin next year. The timeline suggests the government is moving quickly to stabilize markets and support the technology sector. The policy response follows a period of intense volatility. The KOSPI's Relative Strength Index had reached an extreme overbought reading of 83.95 in May before the selloff began. The index's decline from 9,410 to 5,817 represents a 38 percent drawdown, one of the steepest among global benchmarks this year. Whether the fund injection can sustain the rally depends on execution. The government must pass the legislation through parliament and deploy capital effectively. If the fund begins investing in AI infrastructure next year as planned, it could provide a durable floor for Korean technology stocks. If implementation stalls, the KOSPI could resume its decline. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

**China's top economic planner expects computing power network construction to draw 4 trillion yuan in new direct investment over the 15th Five-Year Plan period, with private capital positioned to capture a large share of the buildout.** The National Development and Reform Commission said computing power network construction during the 2026-2030 plan period will generate 4 trillion yuan (about $550 billion) in new direct investment, according to Jiang Yi, director of the NDRC's Policy Research Office and its spokesman. Because computing power buildout is led primarily by enterprise investment, the program creates substantial room for private capital, Jiang said at a press briefing, adding that the commission will strengthen planning guidance and factor guarantees to support private participation. "Considering that computing power construction is mainly enterprise investment, this will create huge space for private investment," Jiang said. "We will strengthen planning guidance, factor guarantees and other work to create a good environment for private investment." The announcement extends Beijing's push to expand its artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, a priority as the country races to build out domestic computing capacity. China's national integrated computing power network, launched in 2022, aims to coordinate data centers across eight national hubs, with the eastern data, western computing initiative directing data-heavy workloads to cheaper energy-rich western regions. The 4 trillion yuan figure signals a step-up in ambition as AI adoption accelerates demand for data centers, chips and network equipment. The plan is expected to channel capital into cloud computing, data center construction, AI chips and optical network equipment, sectors where Chinese firms including Huawei Technologies, Alibaba Group and state-backed telecom operators are expanding capacity. For private investors, the emphasis on enterprise-led spending marks a shift from state-directed mega-projects, potentially broadening access to a market long dominated by state-owned enterprises and large platform companies. The scale of the investment dwarfs earlier computing infrastructure programs. China's previous push under the "east data, west computing" framework involved an estimated 400 billion yuan in annual data center spending, according to industry estimates, meaning the new plan roughly triples the pace of investment. The buildout also dovetails with Beijing's broader stimulus agenda, which has leaned on infrastructure and advanced manufacturing to support growth as the property sector remains weak. For global investors, the computing power plan reinforces the case for Chinese technology and infrastructure exposure, though execution risks remain. Private firms will need clarity on land, power and grid access — the "factor guarantees" Jiang cited — before committing capital at scale. The NDRC has not yet disclosed a timeline for detailed implementation rules or specific project pipelines, leaving the pace of private investment uncertain. The announcement comes as China's AI sector accelerates, with domestic model developers and cloud providers racing to secure computing capacity. If the investment materializes as planned, it could support sustained demand for domestic semiconductor makers and network equipment suppliers while pressuring power grids in data center hubs. The next milestone will be the release of implementation details, which investors will watch for signals on how much of the 4 trillion yuan flows to private hands. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.