SK Hynix ADR Sees Massive Over-Subscription Amid Stock Price Slide; Investors Hope for Turnaround

SK Hynix's American Depositary Receipt (ADR) listing on the Nasdaq has drawn intense interest from global institutional investors, resulting in an over-subscription that reached several times the target volume.

The ADR allows SK Hynix shares to be traded in the U.S. market. Approximately 1,000 institutional investors, including major firms and those specializing in technology stocks, attended the company's U.S. ADR investor presentation held on July 6 (local time).

Notably, three major global investment firms—Baillie Gifford, Coatue Management, and Situational Awareness Partners—reportedly expressed interest in purchasing up to $7 billion worth of shares in this offering.

Nori Chiou, an investment director at White Oak Capital, stated, "For U.S. investors, Korean stocks are relatively rare and difficult-to-access assets, and this scarcity value will likely support demand."

However, Bloomberg analyzed that "the volatility in the global semiconductor market, which has become the most intense in recent years," remains a variable for the Nasdaq listing of SK Hynix's ADR.

SK Hynix's stock price has fallen by approximately 17% this month, leading to a decline in the reference price stated in the filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The offering size, which was estimated at $29 billion at the end of last month, is now projected to shrink slightly to around $28 billion.

Furthermore, global investment bank UBS recently suggested a specific investment strategy ahead of the offering, stating, "SK Hynix's U.S. ADR is more attractive as it is more efficient and cheaper to hold and manage," and advised investors to "sell Korean shares and buy the U.S. ADR." This has raised concerns about the potential for increased short-term selling pressure on domestic shares.

Recently, news that Meta Platforms is entering the cloud business by leasing out excess AI computing resources sparked market concerns that demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) may have peaked. This contributed to a more than 10% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index over two days in the New York stock market.

With 2x leveraged ETFs linked to SK Hynix's stock price further amplifying market volatility, individual investors are closely watching whether the ADR listing could serve as a turning point for the stock's performance.

The final offering price for SK Hynix's ADR is scheduled to be determined on the afternoon of July 9 (local time).

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Choi Gang-san | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.