PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor ETF Tops 1 Trillion Won in Net Assets - Seoul Economic Daily

The Korean financial market has reached a significant milestone as the global HBM semiconductor ETF surpassed 1 trillion won in net assets, highlighting the core role of the semiconductor industry in ... Read original →

The HBM ETF surpassing KRW 1 trillion signals that the AI compute arms race has escalated from chip design to financial capital structuring. Technologically, HBM3E/HBM4’s stacking density and TSV yield pressures are accelerating upgrades in packaging equipment, advanced substrates, and EDA toolchains—particularly benefiting Korea’s domestic supply chain in through-silicon vias and hybrid bonding. Geopolitically, any expansion of U.S.-Japan-Netherlands export controls to HBM manufacturing tools would force Samsung and SK Hynix to build secondary supply chains outside Taiwan, China, raising capex by over 15%. In response, TSMC may accelerate CoWoS capacity and explore HBM integration with Taiwan, China memory partners, while Micron could leverage IRA subsidies to establish U.S.-based HBM lines for AI clients. Over the next 18 months, the ETF’s growth will reflect a deeper shift: semiconductor cycles are moving from capacity-driven to “technology optionality,” where capital directly prices the winner of next-gen memory architectures—not just wafer fabs.