'PLUS Korea HBM Semiconductor' and 'PLUS AI Semiconductor Materials Active' begin trading Tuesday

HBM demand growth seen driving gains for memory chipmakers and materials suppliers alike

[Provided by Hanwha Asset Management]
[Provided by Hanwha Asset Management]

Hanwha Asset Management is launching two ETFs aimed at the AI semiconductor investment cycle. One fund combines exposure to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — the dominant players in the high-bandwidth memory market — with materials, components and equipment suppliers, while the other applies an active strategy focused exclusively on those suppliers.

Hanwha Asset Management said Tuesday it would list the "PLUS Korea HBM Semiconductor" and "PLUS AI Semiconductor Materials Active" ETFs.

The PLUS Korea HBM Semiconductor fund allocates roughly 50 percent to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, with the remaining 50 percent spread across eight semiconductor materials, components and equipment stocks: PSK, VM, TES, Wonik IPS, Simtech, Jusung Engineering, Isupetasys and Daeduck Electronics.

HBM is a critical memory chip used in AI training and inference. Demand has been rising alongside growing investment in AI data centers. Hanwha Asset Management expects the surge in HBM demand to translate into capital expenditure for expanding memory production capacity, with benefits spreading to front-end process equipment — including etching, cleaning and deposition tools — as well as packaging, testing, components and substrates.

The PLUS AI Semiconductor Materials Active fund targets the period when rising AI semiconductor investment, including in HBM, begins to show up in actual orders and earnings at materials, components and equipment companies. Portfolio managers will adjust individual stock weightings by monitoring customers' capital expenditure plans, equipment orders, mass production schedules and new technology adoption. Key holdings include Isupetasys, Intekplus, Doosan, ISC, SFA Semicon, TES, DI, PSK Holdings, Simtech and Hansol Chemical.

Industry analysts say the benefits of expanding semiconductor production are likely to extend to back-end process equipment makers as well. "Given the capacity expansion schedules of domestic and overseas semiconductor companies, the revenue growth visibility for materials, components and equipment firms through 2028 is very high," said Kim Rok-ho, a researcher at Hana Securities, adding that rising packaging demand for HBM and other AI chips means back-end process companies should increasingly be considered investment targets.

"The gains from the memory upcycle will be reflected in the leading stocks first, then spread sequentially to materials, components and equipment companies as capital expenditure is deployed," said Keum Jeong-seop, head of Hanwha Asset Management's ETF business division. "We designed the two products so that investors can capture both the core of the cycle and the phase when capital expenditure begins to broaden out."


kacew@heraldcorp.com