Hanwha Asset Management said on the 30th that it will newly list the "PLUS K-Defense Leverage" exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The ETF uses a leverage strategy that tracks twice the performance of "PLUS K-Defense" to invest more aggressively in the growth potential of K-Defense.
Hanwha Asset Management explained that K-Defense is proving to be a new growth engine for Korea based on earnings. According to Hanwha Asset Management, since 2020 Korea's defense export order intake has surpassed 100 billion won.
This growth is based on an export pipeline expanding around the world, including Europe, the Middle East and North America. With the replacement cycle nearing for outdated weapons systems in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Middle East, their replacement demand alone is estimated at about 18 trillion won.
There are also continued attempts to enter the U.S. market, known as "the homeland of the defense industry." Entry into the United States is expected to become an important opportunity for a reassessment of corporate value by recognizing the technological prowess of K-Defense.
Choi Young-jin, Hanwha Asset Management chief marketing officer (CMO), said, "Under the name of the 'U.S.-China hegemonic rivalry,' a confrontational structure is becoming entrenched between the Western bloc centered on the United States and the EU and the anti-Western bloc centered on China and Russia," and added, "With the 30-plus years of free trade coming to an end and conflict and dispute taking hold as the 'new normal,' the defense industry will continue to be a strategic industry that supports national security and the economic order."