Gwangju Gyeongchong Successfully Concludes Second Half Financial Market and Investment Strategy Lecture

The Gwangju Employers Federation announced that on the 19th, it held the 1657th Friday Morning Forum with 150 attendees at the Holiday Inn Hotel 3rd floor convention hall, inviting Oh Tae-dong, Head of Research at NH Investment & Securities, to speak on the topic of "Key Issues and Outlook for the Financial Market in the Second Half of the Year."

Director Oh analyzed that one of the causes of persistent inflation is that “as the e-commerce market gains trust and becomes more active, the prices of offline products have lowered to match online product prices (Amazon effect), which allowed for high growth with low inflation. However, now, looking around us, the price difference between offline and online markets has almost disappeared, making inflation appear more easily than in the past.”

He also stated, “Before COVID-19, globalization was characterized by China producing goods cheaply and the U.S. purchasing them. However, as the U.S. middle class weakened, the strategy shifted to reshoring by attracting factories back to the U.S. The U.S. government is providing subsidies to companies building factories in the U.S. through legislation such as the IRA Act. Our companies are also establishing factories in the U.S., and the proportion of international students who choose to stay and work in the U.S. is increasing. Due to capital and population outflows, the U.S. growth rate is expected to remain higher than Korea’s. Therefore, it is essential to hold U.S. stocks in investment portfolios,” he emphasized.

Regarding the outlook for the Korean financial market, he stressed, “In the context of the U.S.-centered supply chain restructuring, the U.S. construction boom is boosting exports of machinery, equipment, and construction materials. Semiconductor exports are also rebounding, and export data for the third quarter (September) of this year is expected to peak. Therefore, portfolios should be composed mainly of export-oriented companies.”

He explained the preference for export companies over domestic companies in Korea by saying, “Since 2020, Korea’s population has been declining, especially the working-age population between 15 and 65, which has strong purchasing power. By 2050, this population could decrease by about 13 million, so investing in domestic companies cannot guarantee returns.”

Finally, he said, “Although we may not feel it strongly in daily life, AI-related stocks have risen significantly. With the upcoming popularization of on-device AI devices, AI-related stocks may be a bubble in the short term, but looking 5 to 10 years ahead, investors should pay attention to AI stocks.”

The Gwangju Employers Federation’s Friday Morning Forum concluded the first half of the year with this lecture and will take a two-week break. On the 9th of next month, they plan to invite Tak Yong-seok, Director of the Gyeonggi Content Agency, for a lecture.

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