Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

Equity Bottom-Up

LG Chem Ltd. is a chemical manufacturer. The Company's products include petrochemicals, plastic resins, and engineering plastics. LG Chem also produces industrial and electronic materials.

<ul>
<li>In this insight, we discuss a pair trade between LG Chem Ltd (051910 KS) (common) and LG Chem (051915 KS) (preferred). </li>
<li>The price ratio (LG Chem common/preferred) is now at 2.16x, which is more than 2 STD (standard deviations). Our trading strategy involves revert to the mean. </li>
<li>One of the key reasons why LG Chem (preferred)'s share price has fared much worse YTD than LG Chem (common) is due to much larger selling by the foreign investors. </li>
</ul>


In this insight, we discuss a pair trade between LG Chem Ltd (051910 KS) (common) and LG Chem (051915 KS) (preferred). 
The price ratio (LG Chem common/preferred) is now at 2.16x, which is more than 2 STD (standard deviations). Our trading strategy involves revert to the mean. 
One of the key reasons why LG Chem (preferred)'s share price has fared much worse YTD than LG Chem (common) is due to much larger selling by the foreign investors. 


A Pair Trade Between LG Chem (Common) And LG Chem (Preferred)

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>FSS announced that it will relax the requirements for opening a foreign integrated account to allow foreigners to more easily invest in Korean stocks through overseas local securities firms. </li>
<li>On 11 March, Interactive Brokers announced that it invested 15 billion won in Next Securities. So far, IBKR has not formally announced that it will allow trading of Korean stocks.</li>
<li>We expect IBKR to allow trading of Korean stocks in 2025, mainly due to its investment in Next Securities and FSS's announcement today on relaxation of opening foreign omnibus accounts. </li>
</ul>


FSS announced that it will relax the requirements for opening a foreign integrated account to allow foreigners to more easily invest in Korean stocks through overseas local securities firms. 
On 11 March, Interactive Brokers announced that it invested 15 billion won in Next Securities. So far, IBKR has not formally announced that it will allow trading of Korean stocks.
We expect IBKR to allow trading of Korean stocks in 2025, mainly due to its investment in Next Securities and FSS's announcement today on relaxation of opening foreign omnibus accounts. 


FSS to Allow Foreigners to Invest in Korean Stocks Through Overseas Local Securities Firms

LG Chem Ltd. is a chemical manufacturer.  The Company's products include petrochemicals, plastic resins, and engineering plastics.  LG Chem also produces industrial and electronic materials.

<ul>
<li>In this insight, we discuss numerous gap trade opportunities involving Korean preferred and common shares in 2Q 2025.</li>
<li>The following five pairs (between common and prefs) have experienced more than 10% difference in their share prices in the past six months. </li>
<li>These five pairs (LG Chem, Amorepacific Corp, Amorepacific Group, CJ Cheiljedang, and Korea Investment Holdings) are more likely to revert to closing their gaps in the coming weeks. </li>
</ul>


In this insight, we discuss numerous gap trade opportunities involving Korean preferred and common shares in 2Q 2025.
The following five pairs (between common and prefs) have experienced more than 10% difference in their share prices in the past six months. 
These five pairs (LG Chem, Amorepacific Corp, Amorepacific Group, CJ Cheiljedang, and Korea Investment Holdings) are more likely to revert to closing their gaps in the coming weeks. 


Gap Trade Opportunities in Korean Prefs Vs Common Share Pairs in 2Q 2025

Event-Driven

KCC Corp, manufactures paint & related product, building materials such as cement corrugated sheet, glass wool mat, and board & pipe cover, PVC window profile, paints, and ceramic fiber for high temperature applications. The Company also produces various glasses such as glass fiber, float glass, patterned glass, safety tempered glass, and long glass fibers.

<ul>
<li>Kcc Corp (002380 KS) is considering on issuing an overseas exchangeable bond (EB) for its 10% stake in Samsung C&amp;T (028260 KS).</li>
<li>KCC is the second largest shareholder of Samsung C&amp;T with a 10% stake in the company which is worth 2 trillion won (US$1.4 billion).</li>
<li>Our NAV valuation of KCC Corp suggests NAV per share of 332,947 won, which is 27% higher than current price.</li>
</ul>


Kcc Corp (002380 KS) is considering on issuing an overseas exchangeable bond (EB) for its 10% stake in Samsung C&amp;T (028260 KS).
KCC is the second largest shareholder of Samsung C&amp;T with a 10% stake in the company which is worth 2 trillion won (US$1.4 billion).
Our NAV valuation of KCC Corp suggests NAV per share of 332,947 won, which is 27% higher than current price.


KCC Corp: Considering on Issuing an Overseas EB for Its 10% Stake in Samsung C&T

Hanwha Corporation imports and exports petrochemicals, machinery, automotives, electronics, and steel.  The Company also produces explosives for the defense and construction industries.  In addition, Hanwha manufactures automotive airbag inflators and telecommunication equipment, such as wireless phones and provides financial services through its subsidiaries.

<ul>
<li>Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn (born in 1952) made a major move to give 11.32% of his shares in Hanwha Corporation (000880 KS) to his three sons.</li>
<li>It is estimated that the three sons will need to pay nearly 222 billion won in inheritance taxes associated with receiving additional stakes in Hanwha Corp.</li>
<li>Because the three sons need to pay for the high amounts of inheritance taxes, Hanwha Corp is likely to raise the dividend payout in the next several years.</li>
</ul>


Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn (born in 1952) made a major move to give 11.32% of his shares in Hanwha Corporation (000880 KS) to his three sons.
It is estimated that the three sons will need to pay nearly 222 billion won in inheritance taxes associated with receiving additional stakes in Hanwha Corp.
Because the three sons need to pay for the high amounts of inheritance taxes, Hanwha Corp is likely to raise the dividend payout in the next several years.


Fat Inheritance Taxes for Hanwha Group Chairman Kim's Three Sons Post Receiving Hanwha Corp Shares