South Korea has overtaken the UK to become the world’s eighth-largest stock market, driven by an AI-linked technology rally in semiconductor leaders and wider investor inflows.
South Korean listed companies’ market capitalisation rose more than 45% in this year to $4.04 trillion, ahead of the UK’s $3.99 trillion, up about 3%. The shift reverses 2024, when the UK was roughly twice the size. Gains have been supported by President Lee Jae Myung’s pro-market reforms and global AI semiconductor demand.
The rally in Korean equities reflects a global shift toward AI-linked companies, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for over 40% of the Kospi index’s market capitalisation. Additional momentum has come from President Lee Jae Myung’s corporate governance reforms and pro-market policies aimed at strengthening equity markets.
While equity values have soared for the Asian chip powerhouses, economies in the region remain much smaller than those of the major European ones.
South Korea’s gross domestic product is estimated to be $1.9 trillion this year and Taiwan’s at $977 billion, well below the forecasts for more than $3 trillion for Germany, the UK and France, based on estimates from the International Monetary Fund.
ℹ️ Bloomberg
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