Foreign investors accelerating their retreat from South Korean equities have sold more than 18 trillion won ($12.6 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) shares, while continuing to buy selectively into artificial intelligence component and equipment suppliers, data showed. The pattern suggests investors are pulling large sums out of major chipmakers while picking up stocks with high growth potential in high-performance substrates and electronic components.
Foreign investors sold a net 23.08 trillion won on the main KOSPI market between Sept. 23 and Oct. 14, according to the Korea Exchange. They were net sellers on every session except Oct. 1 and have posted net selling for seven consecutive trading days. Over that period, combined net selling of SK hynix (13.32 trillion won) and Samsung Electronics (5.0 trillion won) reached 18.33 trillion won, or 79% of the total.
Flows diverged sharply within the supply chains expected to benefit from expanding AI infrastructure investment. Foreign investors bought a net 128.6 billion won worth of Isu Petasys, a maker of multilayer printed circuit boards used in AI servers and network equipment. They also showed net buying of 74.7 billion won in Samwha Capacitor, a maker of multilayer ceramic capacitors. DB HiTek (000990.KS), a foundry operator, drew 85.1 billion won, and Hanmi Semiconductor (042700.KS), which makes equipment used in high-bandwidth memory production, attracted 30.9 billion won, placing both among the top net purchases.
Analysts said the buying reflects a trend in which the next wave of beneficiaries is broadening beyond core chips into components and equipment further down the supply chain. As AI servers grow more powerful, data throughput and power consumption are rising, making key components technically more important. High-performance substrates are expected to see higher selling prices as demand grows and products become more sophisticated. In MLCCs, major manufacturers are concentrating capacity on high-margin products for AI applications, reducing supply available for general-purpose parts. That is drawing attention to the potential for second-tier suppliers such as Samwha Capacitor to expand sales and improve profitability.
Brokerages expect earnings growth at AI infrastructure companies to continue on the back of these industry shifts. The consensus estimate for Isu Petasys, which drew the heaviest buying, calls for fourth-quarter operating profit of 108.8 billion won, up 92.5% from a year earlier. Analysts attribute the increase to the full effect of price hikes implemented from July and to expanded mass production of multilayer substrates, whose average selling price is more than double that of products made with earlier processes.
Over the same period, foreign investors bought a net 528.6 billion won worth of Woori Financial Group (316140.KS), a traditional high-dividend defensive stock, making it the single largest net purchase. Large sums also flowed into HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS) at 109.3 billion won, HMM (011200.KS) at 89.8 billion won and SK Telecom (017670.KS) at 65.1 billion won. The divergence reflects expectations for shareholder returns and earnings outlooks in individual sectors.