Korean investors rush to buy Chinese stocks. Data from SEIBro, a subsidiary of the Korea Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (KSD), show that in terms of transaction volume, as of July 17 this year, China ranked second among Korean investors’ favorite overseas markets, second only to the United States. Korean investors are particularly keen on Hong Kong stocks. As of July 18, the Hong Kong stock with the largest amount held by Korean investors was Xiaomi Group-W.

It is worth noting that as of July 18, investor deposits that Korean investors can use to purchase stocks reached 66.7 trillion won, which is at a high level in recent years, indicating that investors still have room to increase their positions.

In the past year, Xiaomi Group-W ranked first in terms of net buying amount

Korean investors are enthusiastic about Hong Kong stocks.

Data from SEIBro shows that as of July 18, 2025, in the past year, the top 10 Hong Kong stocks ranked by net purchase amount by Korean investors were Xiaomi Group-W, BYD Co., Ltd., CATL, Alibaba-W, Laopu Gold, Bubble Mart, BeiGene, Sanhua Intelligent Control, Global X Hang Seng Technology ETF, and UBTECH.

During this period, Korean investors’ net purchases of Xiaomi Group-W were US$160 million, net purchases of BYD shares were US$62.4377 million, net purchases of CATL were US$60.8539 million, and net purchases of Laopu Gold were US$5. The net purchase amount of Bubble Mart was US$29.4064 million, the net purchase amount of BeiGene was US$24.7677 million, the net purchase amount of Sanhua Intelligent Control was US$20.9220 million, and the net purchase amount of Global was US$7.6915 million. The amount of X Hang Seng Technology ETF was US$18.8034 million, and the net purchase amount of Youbi Select was US$17.0485 million.


In the past month, Laopu Gold topped the list of net purchases

As of July 18, in the past month, the top 10 Hong Kong stocks ranked among the net purchases by Korean investors were Laopu Gold, Sanhua Intelligent Control, Xiaomi Group-W, China Property & Casualty Insurance, China Hongqiao Group, CSOP Samsung Electronics Daily Leverage (2x) ETF, Li Auto-W, Cathay Haitong, China Guangdong Nuclear Power, and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group.

During this period, Korean investors’ net purchases of Laopu Gold were US$29.429 million, net purchases of Sanhua Intelligent Control were US$20.922 million, net purchases of Xiaomi Group-W were US$19.8585 million, net purchases of China Property & Casualty Insurance were US$2.1975 million, and net purchases of China Hongqiao Group were US$1.8783 million. The amount of investment in CSOP Samsung Electronics Daily Leveraged (2x) ETF was US$1.844 million, the net purchase amount of Li Auto-W was US$1.6447 million, the net purchase amount of Cathay Haitong was US$1.4689 million, the net purchase amount of CGN Power was US$1.2648 million, and the net purchase amount of CSPC was US$1.0927 million.


In the past week, Alibaba-W ranked first in terms of net buying amount

From July 11 to 18, the 10 Hong Kong stocks with the largest net purchases by Korean investors were Alibaba-W, Laopu Gold, Kangfang Biotech, Horizon Robot-W, CSOP Samsung Electronics Daily Leverage (2x) ETF, Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, CNOOC, China Property & Casualty Insurance, China Hongqiao Group, and iShares CSI 300 ETF.


During this period, Korean investors’ net purchases of Alibaba-W were US$13.3777 million, net purchases of Laopu Gold were US$6.815 million, net purchases of Kangfang Biotech were US$741,700, net purchases of Horizon Robot-W were US$640,800, and net purchases of CSOP Samsung Electronics Daily Leverage (2x) ETF The net purchase amount of Hengrui Medicine was $545,600, the net purchase amount of CNOOC was $543,300, the net purchase amount of China Property & Casualty Insurance was $529,800, the net purchase amount of China Hongqiao Group was $423,900, and the net purchase amount of iShares CSI 300 ETF was $418,100.

Xiaomi Group-W ranks first in terms of stock market value

As of July 18, the top 10 Hong Kong stocks by stock market value held by Korean investors are Xiaomi Group-W, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba-W, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, CATL, Bubble Mart, BYD, Tianqi Lithium, Ganfeng Lithium, and GLOBAL.

Among them, Korean investors hold Xiaomi Group-W with a market value of US$251 million, Tencent Holdings with a market value of US$217 million, Alibaba-W with a market value of US$176 million, SMIC with a market value of US$92.3529 million, and CATL with a market value of US$83.3313 million. The market value of holding Bubble Mart is US$80.2184 million, the market value of BYD shares is US$66.5565 million, the market value of Tianqi Lithium is US$56.7633 million, the market value of Ganfeng Lithium is US$56.5217 million, and the market value of GLOBAL is US$49.9525 million.


China is the second largest overseas market

As of July 17, 2025, the cumulative trading volume of Chinese stocks ranked second in overseas markets.


Tabulated based on SEIBro data, in millions of U.S. dollars.

As of July 17, 2025, the cumulative trading volume of Korean investors on Chinese stocks (including mainland China stocks and Hong Kong stocks) was approximately US$5.514 billion, second only to the US$322.441 billion trading volume on US stocks. In terms of cumulative transaction volume, China ranks second among the overseas markets that Korean investors are most interested in, surpassing Japan and the European Union.

Passionate about U.S. virtual asset concept stocks

There is no shortage of "crazy" investors in South Korea, and digital asset stocks are highly sought after.

From June 19 to July 18, the top five U.S. stocks by Korean investors’ net purchases were Circle, Direxion Daily Tesla 2x Leverage, Coinbase Global, Nasdaq 100 ETF, and iShares 0-3-month U.S. Treasury Bond ETF.


During this period, Korean investors bought a net US$520 million in Circle.

There is still room to add positions

Korea Exchange (KSX) is one of the important exchanges in Asia. In terms of average daily trading volume in 2024, it ranks behind the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) has increased by 32.89% so far this year. Behind this is improved corporate governance and optimistic market sentiment.


South Korean retail investors are adding leverage to rush into the stock market. According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, as of July 17, the amount of outstanding margin loans by Korean investors reached 21.6 trillion won, the highest level in the past year. The amount of idle funds available to investors to buy stocks reached 66.6 trillion won, the highest level since mid-2022.

The retail rush reflects a reversal in expectations. In the past few years, the Korean stock market has performed poorly and its valuations are low compared to other markets. This phenomenon is called the "Korean discount." So far this year, the KOSPI index has increased by more than 30%. Reasons behind this include the government being market-friendly, promising to improve corporate governance, and focusing on stock returns. Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier, said in a previous interview with Bloomberg that if the government maintains a supportive attitude toward the market, retail investors may continue to pour into the market. In addition, a report from JPMorgan Chase stated that in addition to fluctuations in global risk assets, the next key catalyst for the South Korean market is whether it can reach a trade agreement with the United States. JPMorgan Chase remains overweight on South Korea.