NewTimeSpace Report: South Korean and Japanese equities hit record highs on February 12, with the KOSPI index opening up nearly 1.7% at 5,434 points, reaching an all-time high. The benchmark has surged over 28% year-to-date. Xtrackers MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (02848.HK) opened more than 4.5% higher. Notably, the fund has returned 137.83% over the past year.

According to HKEX data, Xtrackers MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (02848.HK) tracks the MSCI Korea 20/35 Custom Index—a "capped index" designed by MSCI to comply with EU UCITS fund regulations. While maintaining representativeness and investability across South Korea's large- and mid-cap equity market, the index enforces hard weight caps to mitigate single-company concentration risk. Major constituents include SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, NAVER, Hyundai Motor, and Shinhan Financial Group, all among the top ten holdings.

On the fundamental front, South Korean Customs data released on February 11 showed semiconductor exports reaching $6.73 billion in the first ten days of February, skyrocketing 137.6% year-over-year.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government announced on February 11 the launch of a 1 trillion won ($690 million) initiative next month focused on developing on-device AI semiconductors. Jointly funded by government and private enterprises over the next five years, the program aims to incubate approximately 10 AI chip solutions for autonomous vehicles, smart home appliances, and humanoid robots.

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