Korean ETF Market Grew 89-fold in 15 Years

The Korea Exchange announced on October 15 that the total net assets of ETFs in South Korea, which had stood at approximately 340 billion won (US$in the early stage of the local ETF market in 2002, reached 30.4 trillion won on October 10 this year.

The average daily trading value of the local ETF market skyrocketed from 32.8 billion won to 876.7 billion won during the same period. Likewise, the number of ETF accounts jumped from 10,000 or so to 406,000 and the number of listed issues increased from four to 303.

According to the Korea Exchange, the South Korean ETF market is the largest in Asia and the ninth-largest in the world in terms of the number of listed issues. The United States topped the list with 1,772 issues. South Korea’s came in 10th and fifth in the world in total net asset value and average daily trading value, respectively.

“At present, the top 10 issues such as KOSPI 200, KOSPI Leverage and KOSPI Inverse account for 75% of the total trading value with the liquidity of the majority of stock-based ETFs remaining at a low level to hinder the further growth of the local ETF market,” the Korea Exchange explained, adding, “We are planning to enhance the transparency of the market and attract more investors by improving systems.”