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Topic: ETFs

ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $49.94

ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $49.94 (New York symbol EWY; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Korea Index.

The ETF’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics,23.7%; Hyundai Motor, 3.3%; Naver (Internet), 3.1%; Hyundai Mobis (auto parts), 2.8%; Shinhan Financial, 2.7%; SK Hynix Semiconductor, 2.6%; Korea Electric Power, 2.6%; Posco (steel), 2.3%; KT&G Corp. (tobacco), 2.2%; AmorePacific Corp. (cosmetics), 2.1%; KB Financial, 2.1%; LG Chemicals, 2.0%; and Kia Motors, 2.0%.

The iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund was launched on May 9, 2000. Its expense ratio is 0.63%.

South Korea has Asia’s fourth-largest economy, after China, Japan and India. It is reliant on exports, but shipments to the U.S. continue to rebound. That helps offset weak shipments to China.

The steady rise of South Korea’s currency, the won, hurt its economy in 2012 and 2013 by making its goods more expensive for foreign buyers. But South Korea cut interest rates to record lows, bringing the won down to five-year lows against the U.S. dollar. The move has lifted exports.

In the longer term, the country faces an aging population, with a birth rate of 1.2 children per woman—the lowest in the developed world.

South Korea ships about 25% of its exports to China, and weak demand there will hurt manufacturers. However, the U.S., Europe and Japan together account for a further 25% of exports. An improving outlook for them should offset the weakness in China.

The national economy will likely grow by 2.8% in 2016. A big stimulus program and low oil prices could push that figure higher; South Korea imports almost all of its oil, bringing in the fifth-largest amount in the world, after Germany.

iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund is a buy for aggressive investors.

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