Hong Kong First KOSPI 200 ETF: CSOP Launch

CSOP Asset Management, Hong Kong’s leading issuer of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), officially launched the CSOP KOSPI 200 ETF on Thursday. This landmark ETF, the first in Hong Kong to track Korea’s benchmark KOSPI 200 Index, arrives amid increasing global investor appetite for dynamic Korean equities.

Now trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the CSOP KOSPI 200 ETF stands as the sole exchange-traded fund in Hong Kong and the broader Asia-Pacific region, outside of Korea, that offers direct exposure to the KOSPI 200 Index.

From its debut, the CSOP KOSPI 200 ETF witnessed robust investor demand. CSOP reported an impressive trading volume exceeding 30 billion Korean Won (approximately $22 million USD) within just the first five minutes of its launch.

“We saw an immediate flood of buy orders right from the opening bell,” stated a CSOP official. “This new ETF creates an essential investment channel, offering Hong Kong-based investors unprecedented access to the exciting Korean equities market, which was previously challenging to reach.”

This launch significantly broadens CSOP’s established range of Korea-focused investment products. Building on the success of their leveraged and inverse products tied to tech giants like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix – which thrived during the AI-driven surge in Korean technology stocks – this new KOSPI 200 ETF now provides investors with diversified, broad-market exposure to the dynamic Korean economy through a comprehensive benchmark index fund.

Designed to mirror the performance of the KOSPI 200 Net Total Return Index before accounting for fees and expenses, the CSOP KOSPI 200 ETF employs a full-replication strategy. This means it directly invests in every constituent stock within the index to ensure accurate tracking. Each unit of the fund is priced at 7.80 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $1 USD), with a standard board lot size of 100 units and an annual management fee set at 0.99 percent.

Korean equities have demonstrated remarkable strength this year, positioning themselves as some of the top global performers. This impressive growth is fueled by robust gains across leading semiconductor shares and sustained foreign capital inflows. CSOP data reveals that the KOSPI 200 Index itself has delivered an astounding return of over 130 percent since the start of 2026.

Reflecting the market’s structure, technology stocks constitute approximately 66 percent of the benchmark KOSPI 200 Index, followed by industrial sectors at 13 percent and financial stocks at 7 percent. The ETF’s major holdings consequently include prominent Korean corporations such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SK Square, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Hyundai Motor, offering investors a stake in these industry leaders.

CSOP analysts attribute the Korean market’s powerful performance to several key factors: the ongoing AI investment cycle, consistent foreign fund inflows, and comparatively attractive valuations. The appeal of Korean equities is undeniable, with global ETFs and exchange-traded products focused on Korea attracting $31.9 billion in net inflows throughout 2025. This trend continues robustly, as inflows for the current year had already reached $30.5 billion by the end of May.

Even after its significant rally, the KOSPI 200 Index presents a compelling valuation story. It currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.02 times, significantly lower than the S&P 500’s 22.39 times. CSOP suggests this valuation gap indicates considerable potential for future expansion.

Ding Chen, Chief Executive of CSOP, emphasized, “We firmly believe that Korea’s equity market is still largely underexplored by international investors. Its continuously evolving market structure and increasing prominence within global investment portfolios underscore its compelling potential.”

“The introduction of the CSOP KOSPI 200 ETF represents a pivotal stride in directly connecting Hong Kong investors with these exciting market opportunities,” Chen concluded.

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