Samsung, SK hynix Cash Piles Jump 73% on AI Memory Boom

* Editor's note: AI PRISM (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an artificial intelligence-based personalized news recommendation and summary service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six tailored news items for each reader type.

1. On the Memory Super-Cycle, Samsung and SK hynix's War Chest Explodes by 117 Trillion Won This Year

- Key summary: The second-quarter cash holdings and short-term financial instruments of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix totaled 189.999 trillion won and 87.96 trillion won, respectively. These figures were up 50.97% and 151.75% from the end of last year, for a combined increase of roughly 117 trillion won and an average growth rate of 73%. First-quarter cash holdings at 138 listed semiconductor companies also rose 26.7% to 103.46 trillion won, far outpacing the 2.4% growth for all listed firms. The results follow record earnings at both companies amid an explosion in AI memory demand. Kim Jae-seung, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, forecast that the operating profit margin of the domestic semiconductor sector would peak in the second half.

2. Won Rises 9.4%, Largest Appreciation Among Major Economies

- Key summary: According to the Bank of Korea's report on international financial and foreign exchange market trends since July, released on the 13th, the won appreciated 9.4% against the U.S. dollar between the 1st of last month and the 11th of this month. The won-dollar exchange rate fell from 1,549.4 won at the end of June to 1,416.0 won on the 11th of this month. A weaker dollar and improved supply and demand in the domestic foreign exchange market drove the strength, while the inflow of currency-conversion volume from SK hynix's American depositary receipt (ADR) issuance also played a role. Over the same period, the Mexican peso appreciated just 2.4% and the Japanese yen 2.1%. The daily average volatility of the won-dollar rate in July was 0.53%, the second highest after the Russian ruble (0.55%).

3. U.S. Treasury Issuance Yield Also Highest Since Financial Crisis

- Key summary: When the U.S. Treasury auctioned $42 billion in 10-year notes on the 12th local time, they were awarded at a yield of 4.683%. That was 0.103 percentage points higher than last month's 4.580% and the highest since 2007. The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.53, down from 2.59 the previous month, and the indirect bid rate, a gauge of foreign demand, fell to 76.7%, its lowest since May. Inflation pressure from the Middle East war and large-scale AI infrastructure investment, a snowballing fiscal deficit, and the end of the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting cycle pushed yields higher.

4. Semiconductor ETFs Also Polarize as Money Flows to Top 2

- Key summary: In the semiconductor exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, polarization has become pronounced as money concentrates in so-called Top 2 products led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The listed shares of TIGER Semiconductor Top 10 fell 9.6% from 294 million on May 27 to 265.85 million on the 11th of this month. Its net assets fell 40.5% from 15.0318 trillion won to 8.9334 trillion won between May 27 and the 12th of this month, driven not only by redemptions but also by a drop in ETF prices amid a plunge in semiconductor stocks during the period. By contrast, the listed shares of 1Q K Semiconductor Top 2+ surged 111.4% between May 27 and the 12th of this month, and SOL AI Semiconductor Top 2 Plus also rose 105.1% over the same period. The KOSPI closed at 6,813.34 on the day, up 3.56%, rising for a fourth consecutive trading session, as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix jumped 4.89% and 5.92%, respectively, lifting the index.

5. Amid a Loan Rush, 30 Trillion Won More in Mortgages by Year-End

- Key summary: The Financial Services Commission announced a comprehensive financial package to stabilize the property market on the 13th, doubling this year's target for household loan growth to 3.0% from 1.5%. The added margin of 30 trillion won will be allocated to group loans and youth support rather than personal credit loans. A new Youth Future Bogeumjari loan will apply a 3% annual rate to purchases of non-apartment homes worth up to 400 million won, and an additional 21.5 trillion won will be provided to real estate project financing (PF) sites. However, jeonse loans will be barred for single-home owners who rent out an apartment they own in the Seoul metropolitan area or a regulated zone if neither spouse has a record of living there. The guarantee ratio for jeonse loans will also be lowered to 70% from 80% in the metropolitan area and to 80% from 90% in the provinces.

6. Bank of Korea, Investing in Gold After 13 Years, Holds 350 Billion Won Worth of ETF

- Key summary: According to materials the Bank of Korea submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the BOK held 679,765 shares of the gold ETF SPDR Gold Trust as of the end of June. The valuation was $250.41 million (about 355 billion won), and since it held none at the end of the first quarter, the purchase is estimated to have been made during the second quarter. It is the first time the BOK has invested in gold since it bought 20 tons of physical gold in 2013, 13 years ago. On the 3rd, the Korea Investment Management Office also announced a plan to buy domestically produced gold for export, appearing to accelerate its build-up of safe assets amid rising geopolitical risk.