Hanwha Asset Management's 'PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor' ETF Surpasses 2 Trillion Won in Net Assets

Boosted by the memory supercycle, the total net assets of the 'PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor' Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) have surpassed 2 trillion won.

On June 24, Hanwha Asset Management announced that as of the closing price on June 23, the total net assets of the PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor ETF reached 2.0078 trillion won. This milestone was achieved approximately 20 days after surpassing the 1 trillion won mark at the end of last month.

This product has continued to attract significant inflows, posting a return of 128.6% over the past three months, 247.14% over six months, 611.43% over one year, and an impressive cumulative return of 1,350.58% since its listing.

The PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor ETF invests approximately 84% in key domestic and global memory semiconductor companies, including Micron Technology (29.94%), SK hynix (28.54%), Samsung Electronics (20.24%), and SanDisk (4.64%). SanDisk was newly added at the end of last month through a regular rebalancing. The unique appeal of this product lies in the ability to invest comprehensively in the global memory semiconductor value chain, which is the key to solving AI bottlenecks, not only covering leading Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix but also major global players.

Demand for memory semiconductors has surged as AI transitions from computation and inference stages to the agent stage, where the number of tokens increases exponentially. According to global market research firm FactSet, capital expenditures on data centers by global big tech companies are expected to jump from 380 billion dollars in 2025 to 904 billion dollars in 2027, more than a 2.5-fold increase. Within this, the share of memory semiconductors is projected to rise sharply from 16% in 2025 to 73% in 2027.

This explosive demand growth, combined with a supplier-driven market structure, has significantly enhanced earnings visibility. Currently, the global DRAM market is dominated by three companies—Samsung Electronics (38.5%), SK hynix (28.8%), and Micron (22.4%)—which together control about 90% of the market. In the NAND market, four companies—Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Micron, and SanDisk—hold approximately 76% market share. As a result of this supply-dominant structure, the previous practice of short-term contracts lasting from one month to one quarter has shifted to long-term contracts ranging from three to seven years. Additionally, about 30% of the contract volume is now paid in advance, supporting stable earnings growth for these companies.

Relatively undervalued valuations are also seen as an attractive investment factor. The 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER) for Micron and SanDisk stands at 10.8x and 11.7x, respectively, which is significantly lower than those of Samsung Electro-Mechanics (97x), Hanmi Semiconductor (69.7x), and Wonik IPS (33x), whose stock prices have recently surged due to AI bottlenecks.

Kim Jeongseob, Head of ETF Division at Hanwha Asset Management, stated, "The PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor ETF focuses investment on upstream companies leading the memory supercycle, such as Micron and SanDisk. As AI enters the agent stage, memory demand is increasing explosively, and the memory supercycle is just beginning, making now the right time to consider active inclusion in your portfolio."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.