Story perspectives

South Korea Overtakes UK, Joins Top Eight Markets

4/29/2026

Summary

South Korea Overtakes

South Korea overtook the United Kingdom as the market eighth in 2026, at US$4.04 trillion with a 45 % gain versus the UK’s 3 % rise.
Samsung and SK Hynix hold 40 % of KOSPI market cap, with Samsung planning US$73.3 billion in chip-AI R&D and SK Hynix spending US$12.85 billion on a plant.
Goldman Sachs raised KOSPI target to 8,000, citing 200 % earnings growth for 2026, while the IMF projects South Korea’s GDP at US$1.9 trillion.

Summary

Taiwan Overtakes UK

Taiwan overtook the United Kingdom in April to become the seventh-largest equity market, valued $4.48 trillion, thanks to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
Taiwan’s and South Korea’s market gains rely on a narrow slice of mega-cap chip firms, making indices concentrated and able to amplify gains or losses as chip demand shifts.
Global equity-fund investors should check if their South Korea or Taiwan exposure is essentially a bet on a few chip leaders.

Summary

SK Hynix StrongBuy

Analysts have given SK Hynix a consensus “Strong Buy” rating, raising price targets because of rising AI chip demand.
The same analysts also maintain strong-buy outlooks for TSMC, citing the same AI market momentum.
Despite broader economic warnings from the IMF and rising energy costs, the AI chip sector retains bullish analyst sentiment.

History

Historical Context

In 2018 TSMC overtook GlobalFoundries to become the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, cementing a lead built on the 1987 fabless-foundry model that gave Taiwan about 70 % of global foundry capacity. The same concentration now mirrors South Korea’s Samsung dominance and fuels market-volatility concerns from analysts and investors amid AI-driven demand in the sector.

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South Korea Overtakes

South Korea overtook the United Kingdom as the market eighth in 2026, at US$4.04 trillion with a 45 % gain versus the UK’s 3 % rise.
Samsung and SK Hynix hold 40 % of KOSPI market cap, with Samsung planning US$73.3 billion in chip-AI R&D and SK Hynix spending US$12.85 billion on a plant.
Goldman Sachs raised KOSPI target to 8,000, citing 200 % earnings growth for 2026, while the IMF projects South Korea’s GDP at US$1.9 trillion.

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