An exchange traded fund tracking South Korea is up sharply this week on easing measures from China, the Federal Reserve and other central banks.
Samsung Electronics is moving in on a deal with Google (NasdaqGM: GOOG) to use the search engine’s software platform. Samsung is a major component in South Korea’s exchange traded fund iShares MSCI South Korea (NYSEArca: EWY), accounting for 18.5% of assets.
“When evaluating EWY, it is important to consider the outlook for Samsung, which accounts for 20% of the total portfolio. It is a global leader in the manufacturing of consumer electronics, cell phones, memory chips and LCD panels. While Samsung’s leading market shares, economies of scale, and advanced manufacturing capabilities in memory chips and LCD panels provide the company with some competitive advantages, these two industries are notoriously cyclical and fiercly competitive,” Patricia Oey for Morningstar wrote in a fund analysis.
Yoon Boo-keun, chief of Samsung’s TV division, said that the company is in final talks with Google about when to release the new gadget. “We will announce the launch date at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January,” he said. [Emerging Market ETFs Could Be on Course for a Turnaround]
The $3.1 billion fund EWY holds a major stake in Samsung Electronics. The technology company is setting up a deal with LG Electronics, and Google to launch a Smart TV which would allow viewers to watch videos through the Internet and run the same applications they use on computers and smartphones, reports The Chosenilbo. The single country ETF has the capacity to gain on the deal if LG can complete and release the deal with Google TV before another company.