Due to Inclusion in MSCI Index
LG U+ Corp. has become the most desired stock for foreign investors as the mobile carrier is to be included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Index at the end of this month.
Foreigner investors bought up more than 610,000 shares of LG U+ worth 9.74 billion won (US$8.72 million) on the main KOSPI bourse on August 21. They continued to purchase LG Uplus stocks over the past month, except for the 7th. In fact, LG U+ ranked first in terms of foreign net buying on the KOSPI market for the last 20 days. The amount of the net purchases exceeded 10 million shares during the period. In particular, foreigners bought as much as 27.1 billion won (US$24.25 million), or 1.67 million, worth of LG U+ shares on the 16th. This came after the company announced to be included in the MSCI Index. The price of LG U+ shares reached a new record high at 16,600 won (US$14.85) on the same day.
Global securities firms, such as UBS Securities Co., Morgan Stanley Securities Inc. and SG Securities Inct., ranked high on the purchase list. Foreigners have been using mainly active funds, which invest in a separate company, to net purchase LG U+ shares.
Lee Joong-ho, an analyst at KB Securities Co., said, “It seems to have an inflow of capital around the MSCI Index inclusion. It will be included in the index at the end of this month but the time to buy can come earlier.”