The Korea Exchange noted that the net worth of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the 'Korea Value-Up Index' totaled 834.1 billion won as of the end of July this year, representing an increase of 68.1% (338 billion won) from its initial setting in November last year.
The Korea Value-Up Index is a stock price index comprised of corporations with excellent capital efficiency, shareholder returns, and profitability among domestic listed companies. It was established to encourage corporate value enhancement.
The Korea Value-Up Index reached an all-time high of 1,306.37 on the 15th, supported by expectations of governance reform as a bill amending the Commercial Act to expand the fiduciary duty of directors to shareholders passed the National Assembly. However, the first tax reform plan of the Lee Jae-myung government, contrary to market expectations, focused solely on tax increases, falling to 1,235.97 on the 1st.
The Korea Exchange assessed that corporations' efforts to enhance corporate value are continuing. In July of this year alone, the total amount of share buybacks by corporations reached 6.5 trillion won. Samsung Electronics and Shinhan Financial Group actively participated.
During the same period, the number of corporations that announced plans to enhance corporate value increased by two. Currently, a total of 158 corporations have made related announcements, including 122 in the KOSPI market and 36 in the KOSDAQ market.