Ants Bought 1 Trillion Won Worth of '70,000-Won Stocks' in One Week

Turning away from Gobus buying
Buying momentum expected to continue with year-end special dividend anticipation

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The 'Gopbus' retail investors have changed. Last month, individual investors, who topped the net buying list by purchasing 700 billion KRW worth of the 'KODEX 200 Futures Inverse 2X' exchange-traded fund (ETF) betting on index declines, have shifted in December to buying Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics preferred shares the most. In particular, after Samsung Electronics' stock price settled in the 70,000 KRW range, retail investors bought up all the shares that foreigners sold whenever the stock price fluctuated. Especially, with growing expectations for a special year-end dividend, the buying momentum among individuals continues.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, as of 9:45 AM, the KOSPI surged to 2,782.79 during the session, setting a new all-time high again. This was thanks to individuals concentrating their purchases on large-cap stocks including Samsung Electronics, which lifted the index. Samsung Electronics' stock price reached an intraday record high of 74,500 KRW. While foreigners were the main drivers raising Samsung Electronics' stock price from the 60,000 KRW range last month to the 70,000 KRW range, it is now individuals who are supporting the stock price that has been wavering in the 70,000 KRW range this month.

Although individuals were the top net buyers last month by purchasing nearly 700 billion KRW worth of the so-called 'Gopbus', their buying pattern has recently changed. Until the first week of December, they net bought 150 billion KRW worth of KODEX 200 Futures Inverse 2X, which profits when the index falls, ranking it second among the most purchased stocks after Samsung Electronics preferred shares (324 billion KRW). Meanwhile, they sold 160 billion KRW worth of Samsung Electronics shares, ranking fifth in net selling.

The buying pattern of individuals changed sharply in the second week of December, when they swept up 1.26 trillion KRW worth of Samsung Electronics shares, becoming the top net buyer. After the stock price settled in the 70,000 KRW range and underwent a correction, foreigners sold shares, which individuals bought in large quantities. Including Samsung Electronics preferred shares (450 billion KRW), the total reaches 1.7 trillion KRW. Considering that individuals net bought 2.4 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market during this period, this accounts for 70.83% of the total volume.

Another notable point is the rising expectations for a special dividend from Samsung Electronics ahead of the year-end. Kim Ji-yoon, a researcher at Daishin Securities, stated, "Samsung Electronics announced a shareholder return policy from 2018 to 2020 to pay at least 50% of free cash flow (FCF) as dividends over three years, and specified that additional cash dividends or share buybacks and cancellations would be implemented if residual funds occur." Based on this, Samsung Electronics is said to have an additional dividend capacity of 6.6 trillion KRW this year. Researcher Kim analyzed, "Due to Samsung Electronics' governance structure, it is more likely to implement a special dividend rather than share buybacks. Converting 6.6 trillion KRW into dividends per share (DPS) amounts to 1,352 KRW, which is a level that allows for a special dividend of around 1,000 KRW."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.