HYBE's Third-Quarter Revenue Is Expected to Double as BTS Tour Attendance Nears 3 Million in a Single Quarter; Global X K-Pop And Culture Etf (03158.HK) Falls 16.14% Year to Date but Still Beats Its Index

NewTimeSpace News：Wind data show that Global X K-Pop And Culture Etf (03158.HK) closed at HKD 54.90 on 16 October, flat versus the previous day, with no trading that session; it traded 2,200 shares worth about HKD 119,500 on 14 October, and has seen zero volume on most trading days in October, leaving secondary-market liquidity extremely thin. The price fell from HKD 58.26 on 28 September to HKD 54.90 on 16 October.

On performance, the product fell 16.14% year to date, 13.11% over the past six months and 18.88% over the past year, while its tracking index (Solactive K-pop and Culture Index) returned -22.62%, -21.35% and -23.94% over the same periods, leaving the ETF ahead of its benchmark by about 6.5, 8.2 and 5.1 percentage points respectively; the Hang Seng Index returned -5.63%, -8.36% and -6.57% and peer funds returned +41.73%, +1.54% and +56.66%, so the product, weighed down by the correction in Korean entertainment and consumer stocks, lagged both the Hong Kong market and its peers. On holdings, the top ten accounted for 62.98%: SM Entertainment 9.62%, HYBE 8.09%, JYP Entertainment 7.85%, YG Entertainment 7.54%, CJ ENM 6.12%, Samyang Foods 5.31%, APR 4.94%, STUDIO DRAGON 4.53%, Naver 4.52% and Amorepacific 4.46%.

On the news front, the positives: HYBE shares jumped 10% on 16 October after iM Securities forecast third-quarter revenue of KRW 1.5 trillion, up 106% year on year, with operating profit of KRW 172.2 billion and concert revenue of KRW 717 billion, nearly tripling from a year earlier. BTS's "ARIRANG" world tour comprises 85 stadium shows across 34 cities in 23 countries, including 16 in North America and eight in Europe in the third quarter, with attendance approaching 3 million in the quarter, potentially a record for the company, and Western markets accounting for more than 70% of concert attendees for the first time. In the second quarter, artist-related revenue accounted for 72% of total sales and concerts for 45%, while merchandise, content and fan-membership businesses boosted profit. In addition, BIGBANG announced its 2026-2027 world tour, with Hong Kong dates on 13-15 November at Kai Tak Sports Park. On the downside: although HYBE's second-quarter revenue and operating profit hit records, its margin fell short of expectations and the stock plunged after the results, wiping about USD 1.96 billion off its market value within 24 hours, showing how sensitive the market is to valuation and profitability; the company remains heavily dependent on BTS, and whether newer groups can take over remains to be seen amid currency headwinds; Korean entertainment, beauty and food consumer stocks have corrected, with the product down more than 18% over the past year; and the product is small, trades extremely thinly with imperfect price discovery, leaving pronounced bid-ask spread and liquidity risks.

Managed by Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong), established and listed in Hong Kong on 18 March 2024, with a base currency of KRW and trading in HKD, the product has a total expense ratio of 0.68% and tracks the Solactive K-pop and Culture Index: the index covers Korean listed companies tied to "K-pop culture" across music, entertainment, content, beauty and food, and the product uses a full replication strategy, investing directly in constituents at weights broadly matching the index and switching to representative sampling under special circumstances; its main investment region is Korea. Holdings are concentrated in the four major entertainment companies SM, HYBE, JYP and YG, along with content platforms such as CJ ENM and Naver and consumer brands including Samyang Foods and Amorepacific, reflecting the equity performance of companies across the K-pop culture value chain. The product suits investors bullish on K-pop's globalisation and Korean cultural exports who can tolerate single-market and extremely high liquidity risk. Risk warning: for reference only; this is not investment advice; past performance does not guarantee future results; invest with caution. (Data source: ROYALFLUSH INFO iFinD, as of 20 October 2026)