▲AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based personalized news recommendation and summary service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ Middle East Risk: Tensions in the Middle East are rising again as the United States has signaled large-scale military strikes targeting Iran and Yemen's Houthi rebels. As the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea shipping route show signs of being blocked simultaneously, international oil prices have surged, driving up returns on domestic renewable energy and crude oil-related ETFs in tandem.
■ Semiconductor Rally: As China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) pursues a listing on Shanghai's STAR Market, returns on China AI chip ETFs have exceeded 30% over three months. Meanwhile, in the United States, AMD said it is on the verge of signing a final contract with Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) for sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4), bringing favorable winds to the global memory industry.
■ Trade Tariffs: The U.S. government has imposed forced-labor tariffs of 10 to 12.5% on 60 countries, including Korea, under Section 301 of the Trade Act. In response, the government has stated it will continue negotiations with the United States to ensure that the combined tariff rate, including future overproduction tariffs, does not exceed 15%.
[News of Interest to Global Investors]
1. Middle East Reignites Alternative Energy Demand Hopes; Renewable ETFs Soar
- Key Summary: Military tensions in the Middle East are rising as the United States has signaled large-scale military strikes targeting Iran and Yemen's Houthi rebels. Amid the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as the Red Sea detour route also shows signs of being blocked, international oil prices have surged, and renewable energy and crude oil-related products have swept the top of the return rankings in the domestic ETF market. According to the Korea Exchange on the 24th, PLUS Solar & ESS rose 20.65% over the past week, recording the highest return, while KODEX WTI Crude Oil Futures (H) also climbed 15.54%. Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel based on the closing price on the 23rd for the first time in about two months. Kim Kwang-rae, senior researcher at Samsung Futures, forecast that market volatility will continue for some time due to the unprecedented U.S. airstrike warning.
2. Amid CXMT IPO Hopes, Three-Month Return Hits 31%
- Key Summary: As Chinese memory company ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) pursues a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, investor sentiment toward China's AI chip industry is improving. Accordingly, the three-month return on the KODEX China AI Semiconductor TOP10 ETF, which invests in China's AI chip value chain, was tallied at 31.62%. This product broadly incorporates AI chip, optical communications, and data storage companies such as Hygon Information Technology and Cambricon Technologies. The securities industry offers the analysis that China's AI industry is entering a phase of structural growth, as the Chinese government's 'AI rise' strategy converges with expanded capital investment by private companies such as Alibaba and Tencent.
3. [Exclusive] Lisa Su Pulls Out New Weapon…"Final HBM4 Contract with Samsung Imminent"
- Key Summary: AMD CEO Lisa Su said that the signing of a final contract with Samsung Electronics for the mass supply of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) is imminent. At the 'AMD Advancing AI 2026' event held in San Francisco on the 23rd, AMD declared mass production of its AI server rack 'Helios' and explained that it plans to begin shipments from the end of the third quarter. Helios will be equipped with Samsung Electronics' HBM4, and OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft have already been secured as customers. Following the signing of a preferential supply memorandum of understanding (MOU) for HBM4 last March, Samsung Electronics is expected to further expand supply to AMD through this final contract.
4. Facing 12.5% Forced-Labor Tariff, Government Says "We Will Keep Combined Rate at 15%"
- Key Summary: The U.S. government has imposed forced-labor tariffs of 10 to 12.5% on 60 countries, including Korea, under Section 301 of the Trade Act. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) decided to levy a 10% tariff on countries with forced-labor prevention systems and 12.5% on those without, and Korea, along with Japan and Switzerland, was included among the 12.5% tariff targets. In response, the government's policy is to continue negotiations with the United States to ensure that the total tariff rate, including overproduction tariffs to be imposed later, does not exceed the previously agreed ceiling of 15%. Jang Sang-sik, head of the International Trade and Commerce Research Institute at the Korea International Trade Association, assessed that while Korea has become somewhat disadvantaged compared to Taiwan and the EU, the actual impact is at a manageable level.
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