Mirae Asset Chairman Park Hyunju Signals M&A Announcement with Japanese Securities Firm for Oct. 29 (Wrap-up)

Special lecture at Kyung Hee University's Seoul campus
"M&A in mainland China to be completed within the year"
Dismisses semiconductor peak theory; warns against leveraged investing

Park Hyunju, chairman of Mirae Asset Group and global strategy officer (GSO), said the company will announce an M&A deal with a Japanese securities firm on October 29.

Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyun-joo gives a lecture titled "Global Capital Markets, the Next Generation's Leap Forward, and a New Path for the Korean Economy" at Kyung Hee University's Seoul Campus in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 27th. Yonhap News

At a special lecture titled "Global Capital Markets, the Next Generation's Leap Forward, and a New Path for the Korean Economy" at Kyung Hee University's Seoul campus on October 27, Park said, "Mirae Asset's M&A will likely be announced sometime tomorrow afternoon (October 28)," adding, "The M&A we are pursuing in mainland China will probably be completed within this year."

However, after the lecture, Park told reporters, "(The target of the M&A to be announced soon) is a securities firm in Asia," and corrected himself, saying, "The board meeting will be held on October 29, not October 28." The target securities firm is reportedly Japanese. The Chinese company whose M&A could be completed within the year is also said to be in the financial sector.

Park said he would continue pursuing M&As involving companies in countries with larger economies than South Korea, adding, "The places I most want to do business are the United States and China." Commenting on claims that the semiconductor industry has peaked, he said, "At most, I think the AI revolution is only 10% to 20% of the way along," adding, "The peak theory is highly likely to be wrong."

"There are only four companies that can make memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), including ChangXin Memory Technologies," Park said. "If prices rise due to supply shortages, you can buy [the products], but it is difficult to expand production."

Park struck a somewhat negative tone on shareholder return policies at semiconductor companies. "South Korea is a country led by manufacturing," he said. "Manufacturing is cyclical; things can be going well, and then suddenly problems can arise with competition."

Park said of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), "I used to be negative about them. I don't create products for the company's profit." He added, "If I had liked leveraged ETFs, I could have offered them in Hong Kong, but I didn't, because I was worried South Korean investors might lose money." He continued, "You shouldn't invest in two-times or three-times leveraged products, or 10-times leveraged crypto products in the United States," adding, "I had a strong feeling that this was something people absolutely shouldn't do."

Regarding exchange rates, Park said, "I think we need to change the belief that the won should be strong," adding, "Manufacturing accounts for 60% to 70% of the South Korean economy. Would a stronger won make manufacturing more competitive?"

Park cited real estate as the biggest problem facing the South Korean economy, saying, "Apartment prices are highly likely to fall."

Park proposed easing regulations as a way to increase housing supply, saying, "You can build offices up to the 20th floor and apartments above that." He also proposed converting golf courses near Seoul into sites for rental housing. 

Regarding China's technological rise, Park said, "If I were Chinese, I would sell my house and buy ChangXin Memory Technologies." He added, "The fact that ChangXin Memory Technologies has surpassed Moutai in market capitalization marks the starting point of China's market beginning to reflect the country's technological rise."

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