The KOSPI struggled for direction overnight, erasing most of an opening rally that briefly pushed the South Korean main equity index up as much as 4.1%. The real strength was in memory stocks, with SK Hynix surging as much as 10% as investors piled back in. This move comes as Bloomberg reports the company’s US ADR listing is more than seven times oversubscribed, underscoring strong institutional demand.
The report said SK Hynix is selling 177.9 million American depositary receipts, with each ADR equal to one-tenth of a common share. Based on the memory giant’s Wednesday close in Seoul, the offering could raise about $24.5 billion, putting it among one of the largest US debuts by a foreign company and just behind Alibaba Group’s record $25 billion listing.
Demand for the ADR listing has mostly come from global long-only funds, technology-focused investors, sovereign wealth funds, and Asia-focused funds, the report said, adding that Baillie Gifford, Coatue Management, and Situational Awareness Partners have indicated interest in buying $7 billion of the ADRs.
Banks leading the deal stopped taking orders late Wednesday, with pricing slated for Thursday. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase are leading the offer along with nine other firms.
ADRs are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Friday under the symbol SKHYV, before switching to regular-way trading on SKHY the following Monday.
Shares in South Korea rebounded on Thursday, surging more than 10%. However, shares remain down 25% since peaking last month.
Barclays analyst Mitul Kotecha noted, “The US ADR listing of SK Hynix could provide some further near-term support for the KRW, but much is in the price. Foreign selling of Korean stocks remains relentless and a likely major headwind further out. Our impulse-response analysis decomposes the different factors driving the selling.”
The ADR deal comes amid a broader pullback in AI-linked memory names.