◆Ajou Economics Major News
▷Surge in Education Tax Burden for Securities Firms Amid Stock Market Boom
- According to the financial investment industry on June 18, the estimated education tax payments for four major domestic securities firms (Kiwoom, NH, Meritz, and Shinhan) in the first quarter of this year totaled 68.4 billion won. This represents a 3.48-fold increase compared to the 19.7 billion won paid during the same period last year.
- Notably, considering that the total annual payment for these four firms last year was approximately 103.8 billion won, they have already filled 66% of last year's total tax amount in just three months (the first quarter) this year.
- The sharp increase in education tax burden is attributed to a rise in the tax rate from 0.5% to 1% on excess earnings for large financial and insurance companies exceeding 1 trillion won, effective this year. The booming stock market has also significantly increased the taxable base for securities firms.
- In fact, the upward trend and increased volatility in the domestic stock market have greatly expanded the trading volume for market makers (MM) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) liquidity providers (LP).
- A representative from a major securities firm stated, "While the government is promoting policies to invigorate the stock market, it is imposing a distorted tax burden on the liquidity providers that support market infrastructure. If the tax burden continues, securities firms will inevitably have to reduce market-making and LP contracts, which will ultimately lead to decreased market liquidity and weakened price discovery, adversely affecting ordinary investors."
◆Key Reports
▷Reasons for KOSDAQ's Underperformance in the 9,000-point Era [Yuanta Securities]
- The underperformance of KOSDAQ is not merely a matter of excessive declines. First, individual investors, who have been long-term net buyers, are withdrawing their funds. Second, while KOSPI's earnings estimates are being revised upward, particularly in the semiconductor sector, KOSDAQ's earnings improvement is limited.
- Third, following indications of interest rate hikes, KOSDAQ, which has a high proportion of high-PER growth stocks, is more vulnerable to rising discount rates. Historically, when the Bank of Korea shifts from a rate-cutting or holding phase to a rate-hiking phase, KOSDAQ has underperformed compared to KOSPI. The outlook suggests that the environment favoring KOSPI in terms of supply-demand, earnings, and interest rates will continue.
- If the strong semiconductor exports, rising memory prices, and improved KOSPI EPS are maintained, the lower bound of the index could be established at a higher level than before. Conversely, KOSDAQ is likely to continue its relative underperformance until individual investor demand returns and earnings estimates rebound.
◆Major Announcements After Market Close (June 18)
▷SG announces a 61 billion won rights offering for shareholders.
▷Samyang Corporation to acquire additional shares of its Japanese subsidiary for 254.3 billion won, achieving 100% ownership.
▷Chabio Tech to acquire 60 billion won in shares of the Pium AI Future Healthcare New Technology Financial Investment Fund.
◆Fund Trends (as of June 17, excluding ETFs)
▷Domestic equity funds: +498.1 billion won
▷Overseas equity funds: -263.8 billion won
◆Key Schedule for Today (June 19)
▷South Korea: Producer Price Index (May)
▷Japan: Consumer Price Index (May)
▷United Kingdom: Retail Sales (May)
* This article has been translated by AI.
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