Why Hydrogen Stocks Are Gaining Attention Amid Bin Salman’s Visit to Korea

President Yoon Discusses Energy Cooperation
Neom City Promotes Eco-Friendly Urban Development
Hydrogen-Related Stocks Including Doosan Fuel Cell and Hyosung Advanced Materials Surge Up to 70% in One Month

[Image source=Yonhap News] Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the first in line to the throne, has declared his intention to transform Saudi Arabia into an open and moderate Islamic country.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Hydrogen-related stocks are gaining attention ahead of the visit of Saudi Arabia's "powerful figure," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on the 17th. It is known that Crown Prince bin Salman will discuss cooperation plans for eco-friendly energy such as hydrogen during his meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol. In particular, since the Saudi "NEOM City," led by Crown Prince bin Salman, is promoting itself as an eco-friendly smart city, it is expected that energy sources such as hydrogen and solar power will be utilized.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 15th, as of 9:25 a.m., Doosan Fuel Cell, the leading hydrogen stock in the KOSPI market, was trading at 36,500 KRW, up 0.69% from the previous trading day. Doosan Fuel Cell has surged about 54% over the past month (October 17 to November 14). Hyosung Advanced Materials also recorded 403,500 KRW, up 2.54% from the previous trading day at the same time. Hyosung Advanced Materials has also shown a strong rise of about 33% over the past month. Other stocks such as Iljin Hysolus (1.57%), Dong-A Chemical (0.87%), and Hyosung Chemical (6.39%) are also recording gains. All these stocks have shown increases ranging from at least 20% to as much as 70% over the past month.

The strength of hydrogen stocks is due to the news that Crown Prince and Prime Minister bin Salman will visit Korea on the 17th to discuss hydrogen and NEOM City-related matters. Known as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and a powerful figure in the state-owned oil company Aramco, Crown Prince bin Salman is promoting the NEOM City project, a 710 trillion KRW eco-friendly smart new city initiative aimed at transforming Saudi Arabia's economy, which is highly dependent on oil. NEOM City is a project to develop a futuristic industrial, residential, and tourism special zone new city spanning approximately 26,500 km² in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia, covering areas from Saudi Arabia to Egypt and Jordan.

Although Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer, it is deeply considering alternative energy sources following the global shift in the energy paradigm. "Gray hydrogen" is eco-friendly energy that can be extracted directly from oil, and "blue hydrogen," which is considered eco-friendly energy, requires an additional carbon filtering process. However, Saudi Arabia faces limitations in producing blue hydrogen with its own technology and is discussing technological cooperation with various countries and companies worldwide.

Crown Prince bin Salman's visit to Korea to meet with President Yoon Suk-yeol and discuss cooperation plans for hydrogen and other eco-friendly energy sources can be understood in this context.

The Yoon administration's hydrogen economy support policies are also analyzed to have contributed to the strength of hydrogen-related stocks. On the 9th, ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT held the first Hydrogen Economy Committee under Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, presenting the "New Government Hydrogen Economy Policy Direction." The government announced plans to supply 30,000 hydrogen buses and trucks and establish 70 liquefied hydrogen charging stations by 2030. Subsidies for city and metropolitan buses will also increase from the current 150 million to 200 million KRW range to 210 million to 260 million KRW starting next year.

Ha In-hwan, a researcher at KB Investment & Securities, analyzed, "Hydrogen is a field of high interest for our government, and if it is a field where governments of various countries meet, the government's leadership will be even stronger."

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