South Korean Won Rebounds to 1,505 as SK Hynix’s $26 Billion US Listing Spurs Inflows
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jul 13
South Korean Won Rebounds to 1,505 as SK Hynix’s $26 Billion US Listing Spurs Inflows
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Jul 13
Summary
Won1,505 per dollar marked a sharp rebound from the won’s 17-year low after banks on SK Hynix’s ADR deal sold dollars forward ahead of Friday’s listing.
More than $26 billion from the US share sale is due to be repatriated for AI chip plant construction, with about $1 billion a day expected to be converted after Tuesday’s settlement.
That flow should support the currency only briefly: analysts said the proceeds equal roughly 1% of South Korean banks’ average daily FX turnover and are too small to reverse the broader trend.
Foreign investors have sold more than $100 billion of South Korean equities this year, including $7.5 billion in the first eight days of July, helping drive the won down more than 10% over 12 months.
The pressure has persisted despite a record $141.3 billion current-account surplus, as exporters keep earnings offshore and South Korean investors continue shifting assets abroad.