South Korea Surpasses India as World’s Sixth-Largest Stock Market
New Delhi, Jun 2 (UNI): After Taiwan, South Korea’s stock market has now overtaken India’s to become the world’s sixth-largest. The surge was driven by a relentless surge in chip heavyweights powering the global artificial intelligence buildout.
According to the data, the total market capitalisation of Korea-listed companies has soared 86 per cent this year to $5 trillion. In contrast, India’s market capitalisation has declined to $4.8 trillion.
In the South Korean Market, Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., newly minted members of the $1 trillion valuation club, have led the surge in Korean equities. Apart from AI-related gains, the Korean stock market has also benefited from President Lee Jae Myung’s push for corporate reforms.
Earlier, Taiwan’s stock market overtook India’s in terms of valuation to become the fifth-largest in the world. The rally was primarily driven by the world’s largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Taiwan’s market capitalisation climbed to $4.95 trillion while India’s value has dropped to $4.92 trillion. Taiwan’s stock market is now behind only the US, mainland China, Japan, and Hong Kong. The surge reflects strong investor confidence in Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem.
TSMC now accounts for about 42 per cent of the benchmark index, representing intense market concentration. TSMC’s shares have rallied 49 per cent this year as it has benefited from the Artificial Intelligence (AI) trade, in which its semiconductors have a dominant market position.
The surge in the market value highlights intense optimism in AI. This is triggering a global rally in tech shares, disproportionately benefiting manufacturing hubs such as Taiwan and South Korea.
Taiwan has also recently come up with new regulations which are favouring TSMC. Taiwan’s financial regulator has increased the limit that domestic funds can invest in a single stock.
Funds that invest solely in Taiwanese stocks can hold up to 25 per cent of their net assets in any listed company whose weighting exceeds 10 per cent in the Taiwan Stock Exchange, up from a previous limit of 10 per cent, the new regulation said.
