Mirae Asset to plow gains from high-profile investments in SpaceX, xAI into global M&As: Chairman Park
Asia’s first to issue $70 million in digital bonds, Mirae Asset’s shares surged on Thursday to overtake Woori Financial in market capitalization
ByYe-Jin Jun and Han-Shin Park
Park Hyeon-joo, founder and chairman of Mirae Asset Group, one of the largest asset managers in South Korea, has pledged to plow gains from high-profile investments in Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI into an ambitious program of overseas mergers and acquisitions, as the group seeks to reposition itself for what he describes as a historic inflection point in global finance.
“The profits generated from our investments in SpaceX and xAI will be reinvested into global M&A,” Park, also Mirae Asset’s global strategy officer, said in a recent interview with The Korea Economic Daily.
Founded by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk in 2002, SpaceX develops launch vehicles such as the reusable Falcon 9 rocket, which is used by commercial satellite operators and the US government.
The company’s Starlink division has deployed over 7,000 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, serving some 5 million households worldwide.
Park estimated that operating profits and investment exits accumulated over the next five years from SpaceX and xAI would total about $20 billion — capital he intends to aggressively deploy into future growth engines.
Park has been personally overseeing dealmaking since the start of the year, touring group affiliates in China, Singapore, Australia and the US.
On Friday, he is due to deliver a New Year’s address from Australia to staff worldwide, outlining what he calls a strategy for a “second founding” of the group.
TOKENIZATION: END OF ASSET BORDERS
Park framed his strategy in sweeping terms, arguing that the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping capitalism.
“Humanity is standing at the steepest turning point in history,” he said. “The AI-driven upheaval has brought about harsh realities of wealth and job polarization.”
He added that the world is moving from an era in which capital generated wealth to one defined by productivity asymmetry, where AI concentrates productivity and capability.
“Those who read change early and act decisively will redraw the map of wealth,” Park said.
At the heart of Mirae Asset’s strategy is tokenization, the digitization of real and financial assets on blockchain-based platforms, and the construction of a global investment network.
Park said the group’s move to acquire Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit is a strategic foothold, adding that Mirae Asset will enable digital asset trading via its mobile trading system when it launches in Hong Kong in June.
Retail-focused platforms are also under development in the US and China.
“Our goal is to build a digital asset investment grid that connects the world by tokenizing all assets across the group – traditional, alternative and digital,” he said.
ASIA’S FIRST DIGITAL BONDS
On Thursday, Mirae Asset Securities Co. successfully issued 100 billion won ($70 million) of digital bonds, becoming the first financial institution in Asia to do so.
The bonds, denominated in Hong Kong and US dollars, integrate blockchain technology into the conventional bond market.
Park described the transaction as a “signal flare” for the digital transformation of finance.
The bonds were privately placed using tokenization platforms and blockchain infrastructure, automating issuance, coupon payments and redemption through distributed ledger technology, while enabling real-time settlement.
“That this scale of funding was raised points to a major transformation in capital markets,” he said. “It presents a new model of borderless capital raising.”
M&As ACROSS THE US, EUROPE, CHINA
Park said Mirae Asset will integrate artificial intelligence capabilities from its overseas acquisitions, including US-based AI finance firm Wealthspot and Australia’s robo-adviser specialist Stockspot, into its global trading platforms.
“We will fuse Wealthspot’s AI wealth management capabilities with our own platforms,” he said, adding that the group aims to evolve into a “digital asset manager” with a decisive competitive edge.
Reinvesting profits to create what he called a “super-gap” over rivals, Park said Mirae Asset is actively exploring acquisitions in the US, Europe and China.
The group also plans to establish a venture capital arm in San Francisco and increase investments in Silicon Valley AI companies, having already backed startups such as Cohere Inc. and Perplexity AI Inc.
“At a time like this, what matters is strategic insight that cuts through uncertainty, and the courage to decide without fear of failure,” Park said. “We will keep innovating as eternal first movers.”
SHARES SURGE, OVERTAKING WOORI IN TERMS OF MARKET CAP
Mirae Asset Securities’ shares surged 17.4% on Thursday, lifting its market capitalization to 23.2 trillion won and overtaking that of Woori Financial Group for the first time, a landmark moment in Korea’s financial sector, when a securities firm has eclipsed a financial holding company by market value.
The rally reflects a booming domestic equity market and growing investor focus on Mirae Asset’s global investment record.
The group invested about $278 million in SpaceX between 2022 and 2023, and more than $10 million in xAI last year, fueling expectations of substantial capital gains as SpaceX prepares for a potential initial public offering.
Combined with the integration of overseas acquisitions such as India’s Sharekhan Ltd., analysts said Mirae Asset is increasingly viewed as a credible global investment bank.
“The market is pricing in its evolution into a global IB,” said an asset management executive in Seoul.
Mirae Asset becomes first Korean firm to issue 100 billion won in digital bonds
Mirae Asset Securities said Thursday it has issued 100 billion won ($70.13 million) in digital bonds, becoming the first financial institution in Korea to do so.
The bonds were issued simultaneously in two currencies — 325 million Hong Kong dollars ($41.7 million) and $30 million — via private placement. HSBC was the lead manager, with Mirae Asset’s Hong Kong subsidiary as co-manager.
The bonds were processed using HSBC’s Orion platform, which is linked to Hong Kong’s Central Moneymarkets Unit, the official bond settlement system. Orion uses the same blockchain infrastructure as Hong Kong’s digital green bonds.
Digital bonds use blockchain and distributed ledger technology to automate issuance, interest payments and redemption, boosting efficiency and transparency. The multicurrency issuance also helped reduce foreign exchange costs and settlement delays.
Mirae Asset said the issuance is part of a broader strategy to expand in digital finance, including tokenized real-world assets and AI-driven financial services.
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Mirae Asset’s Tiger S&P 500 ETF becomes Korea’s largest by net assets
Mirae Asset Global Investments said Friday that its flagship Tiger US S&P 500 exchange-traded fund has become the largest ETF by net assets listed in South Korea — the first time in the country's 23-year ETF history that a fund centered on overseas equities has claimed the top spot.
According to data from the Korea Exchange, the S&P 500 ETF's net assets stood at 8.54 trillion won ($6.21 billion) as of Thursday. Buoyed by strong interest from retail investors, the fund has ranked first in net purchases by individuals in both 2024 and the first half of 2025, earning it the nickname “Korea’s national ETF.”
Since the launch of Korea’s ETF market in 2002, domestic equity and bond ETFs have dominated the rankings. The rise of the Tiger S&P 500 ETF signals a shift from this, showing growing demand for US stock exposure, as ETFs are considered an easier alternative to direct stock purchases.
Mirae Asset plans to continue enhancing the fund’s competitiveness as a core vehicle for long-term US equity investment. The fund’s total expense ratio stands at just 0.0768 percent, with an all-in cost of 0.1182 percent, which is the lowest among S&P 500 ETFs listed in Korea.
To mark the milestone, Mirae Asset is holding a promotional “Tiger US S&P 500 ETF Net Asset No.1 Celebration Event” from July 11 to August 8, offering prizes to selected participants.
Additionally, as of end-June, individual investors held 27.1 trillion won ($19.7 billion) in Tiger ETFs, accounting for 43 percent of all personal ETF holdings in Korea.
“This milestone reflects our long-standing efforts to build a US index investment culture, starting with Korea’s first Nasdaq ETF in 2010 and its first S&P 500 ETF in 2020,” said Kim Nam-ki, head of the ETF division at Mirae Asset. “Despite global market uncertainties, we encourage investors to stay focused on the long-term growth potential of capital markets.”
hyelimchung@heraldcorp.com
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HYOSUNG TO DOUBLE TRANSFORMER OUTPUT TO CONQUER US MARKET
The US transformer-making unit of South Korea’s Hyosung Heavy eyes over 10% share of the US market within two years
By Woo-Sub Kim Mar 03, 2025
Hyosung HICO plant in Memphis, Tennessee (Courtesy of Hyosung HICO)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- South Korea’s major power system and machinery conglomerate Hyosung Heavy Industries Corp. plans to nearly double its annual transformer output in the US to over 250 units in two years, gearing up for a surge in transformer demand during the artificial intelligence boom.
Hyosung HICO Ltd., Hyosung Heavy Industries’ transformer-manufacturing operation in the US, plans to ramp up the annual transformer production capacity of its plant in Memphis, Tennessee, to more than 250 units – from the current 130 – before 2027. In the first phase, it will expand the capacity by 53.5% to 200 units by early 2026, and then over 250 in the following year, which would cost the company hundreds of billions of Korean won (hundreds of millions of US dollars) in total. After it completes the plant’s capacity expansion, Hyosung HICO is expected to command more than a 10% share in the US transformer market versus last year’s 6%, said Jason E. Neal, president of Hyosung HICO. Neal projects that Hyosung’s transformer sales and output in the US would beat those of the market’s current top two, Siemens and General Electric (GE), within two years to become the largest US transformer producer and seller. His confidence lies in the company’s huge five-year transformer order backlog, driven by strong replacement demand for aging power equipment and installation demand from AI-driven new data centers set to spring up across the US.
A 525-kV transformer in Hyosung HICO plant
TRANSFORMER DEMAND WILL REMAIN HIGH FOR A WHILE
A transformer is an essential part of an electrical system as it changes the voltage level of electricity produced by power plants for the efficient transmission of electrical energy. The cost to build each unit ranges from 6 billion to 20 billion won ($14 million). Hyosung HICO is the only US producer of 765-kilovolt (kV) transformers, which cost about 20 billion won per unit. The company has recently bagged an order to manufacture the ultra-high-voltage transformer from one of the top five US utility companies. Hyosung moved much faster than its competitors in making bold investments to develop ultra-high-voltage transformers while others hesitated, said Hyosung HICO president.
The company’s transformers are highly sought after by its customers in the US, where it has been supplying them to US utility companies since 1999. Hyosung is expected to win more transformer orders in the US.
Workers in Hyosung HICO's plant in Memphis, Tenn. The US government under President Donald Trump has decided to simultaneously build more liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable energy and nuclear power plants to cope with mounting electricity demand from data centers powering AI. Transformers are required to run power plants and data centers. Further, over 70% of the US electricity grids are more than 25 years old, meaning that the demand to replace old transformers with new ones is set to increase further in the next decade. Encouraged by the rosy outlook, Hyosung's cross-town rival HD Hyundai Electric Co. also announced a plan earlier this year to invest about half of its 2024 operating profit, estimated at 720 billion won, to bump up its transformer output at its US plant in Alabama to 150 units a year from the current 100.
NO TARIFFS
Hyosung is poised to win more transformer orders in the US without worrying about tariffs thanks to its transformer plant in Tennessee. 
Hyosung's ultra-high-voltage transformer. Hyosung acquired the Memphis plant from Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Power Products for $45 million in 2020 to avoid heavy tariffs the first Trump administration threatened to impose on imports. The brave investment has proved to be a stroke of genius.
Driven by the increasing price of transformers on their high demand, Hyosung Heavy Industries’ operating profit hit its historic high of 362.5 billion won in 2024, and this year’s profit is forecast to exceed 500 billion won, according to market analysts. Its operating profit in 2020 stood at 44.1 billion won. Backed by the strong demand for transformers, Hyosung plans to transform its Memphis plant into a place where it can produce not only transformers but also other power equipment such as industrial circuit breakers and static synchronous compensators (statcom) to beef up profitability, the company said.
Mirae Asset rises to 12th-largest ETF manager with $141 billion in assets
Its growth in Asia is noteworthy, with its Indian unit expanding the fastest among its global affiliates
South Korea’s leading asset manager Mirae Asset Financial Group has emerged as the world’s 12th-largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) manager with over 200 trillion won ($141 billion) in net asset value (NAV). According to Mirae Asset Securities Co.'s overseas asset management affiliate Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. on Wednesday, the group operates 624 ETFs managing $141 billion across 13 countries as of the end of November. Mirae Asset doubled its ETF assets in just three years. In 2021, it managed 100 trillion won in NAV globally. The company attributed its rapid growth to its aggressive mergers and acquisitions strategy, through which it has established a broad global network.
Mirae Asset entered the ETF market in 2006 under the leadership of Chairman Park Hyeon Joo, launching ETF products under the TIGER brand in Korea. As of the end of November, TIGER ETFs held a 36% market share in the domestic ETF market.
Park, founder and chairman of the group, assumed the group’s global investment and strategy officer (GISO) role in 2018 to lead Mirae Asset’s global expansion.
AGGRESSIVE M&As
Park has pushed the investment firm’s global expansion through M&As. Under his leadership, Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired Canada’s Horizons ETFs in 2011, which was rebranded as Global X Investments Canada Inc.
Global X Canada has become the fourth-largest ETF manager in the country, with a focus on income-generating ETFs that periodically pay out cash. In 2018, the company acquired the US-based Global X ETFs for $488 million. Global X ETFs, known for its strength in thematic ETFs, has seen a fivefold rise in assets under management since then.
Mirae Asset also bought Sydney-based ETF Securities, which accounts for 4% of Australia’s ETF market, for 120 billion won ($95.2 million) and later rebranded it as Global X ETFs Australia.
Last year, Mirae Asset bought the UK’s leading ETF manager Goldenberg Hehmeyer LLP (GHCO) for $35 million to step up its ETF services in Europe, the world’s second-largest after the US.
RAPID GROWTH IN INDIA
Mirae Asset's growth in Asia is noteworthy. It established Mirae Asset Global Investments’ first global affiliate in Hong Kong in December 2003. In 2011, it became the first Korean asset management firm to list an ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Mirae Asset has also established Global X Japan, a joint venture with Daiwa Securities, in 2019.
Mirae Asset’s Indian subsidiary is one of its fastest-growing affiliates worldwide. Mirae Asset Securities established its India operations in 2018 – Korea’s first brokerage to do so in the country.
Mirae Asset shines in US ETF market
It has been five years since Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired Global X, its subsidiary managing ETFs in the U.S. Global X, which is a rising star in the U.S. market, has grown into a leader in the thematic growth ETF market, operating assets around six times bigger compared to when it was acquired by Mirae Asset.
In February 2018, Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired Global X for $488 million (520 billion won). The aim was to expand Mirae Asset's global ETF network by challenging the U.S. market, which takes up more than 70 percent of the global ETF market.
Mirae Asset Global Investments focused especially on the growth potential of Global X at the time of the acquisition. It determined that Global X, equipped with an innovative and differentiated product lineup under the catchphrase "Beyond Ordinary ETFs," had enough momentum for growth.
"We decided to invest in Global X as it is a company with a competitive edge, just like Mirae Asset 15 years ago," Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyun-joo said back then. He added that the deal became the cornerstone of Mirae Asset's global business plan.
Mirae Asset has shared its know-how with Global X, from product development to research and operations. The current status of Global X in the U.S. market is as high as it can be ― its assets under management (AUM) stand at 45 trillion won ― as of the end of last year, which is up six times more than what it had at the time of the acquisition. Its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has been at 29.13 percent for the past five years, which compares favorably with the industry average of just 14.5 percent. The number of its ETS products also increased to 100 from 49, which became the foundation for the stable growth of AUM.
Now, Global X is leading the thematic growth ETF market in the U.S. It concentrated on searching for innovative themes in the ETF market, which had mostly been dominated by passive products such as ones based on market indices, and launched products comprising companies with high growth potentials. It also strengthened research ― with its own research team. Global X has been offering solutions based on products and industry information. It thereby took the initiative in the fast-changing U.S. market. It also satisfies the diverse needs of investors with a broad lineup of products other than thematic ETFs.
Global X is especially competitive in covered call ETFs. Its Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF achieved 8 trillion won in AUM last year, becoming one of the most popular products among Koreans investing in the U.S. market and paying back with a high dividend.
Last June, Mirae Asset Global Investments and Global X jointly acquired ETF Securities, an Australian ETF management firm. It is the first time for a local asset management firm to acquire an ETF management firm overseas with the money it earned abroad.
Mirae Asset plans to expand its global business, due to the synergy effect with Global X. It thus changed the names of ETF Securities to Global X Australia, and Mirae Asset Global Investments Brazil to Global X Brazil, as a way to enhance the brand value of Global X. It plans to diversify its business and expand to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, strengthening its foothold as a global financial group.
"The U.S. market is essential for any ETF management company to grow into a global player as it leads the ETF industry. We will concentrate our efforts to make a leap forward as a global player, maximizing synergy effects with Global X, which is expanding its presence in the U.S. market," a spokesperson for Mirae Asset Global Investments said.
Mirae Asset Securities acquires GHCO in $40m deal
Korean securities company enters European market
Mirae Asset Securities has acquired market maker GHCO for $40m as the group continues to expand its global ETF business.
The deal, which completed on 6 December, is the first purchase made by the securities arms of Mirae Asset Global Investments outside of the Asian market and is the firm’s first entry into Europe.
Speaking to ETF Stream, Daniel Izzo, CEO of GHCO, said the deal will give his firm the scale to compete directly with the two largest market makers in Europe, Jane Street and Flow Traders.
“The barriers to entry are exceedingly high in Europe and it takes scale to make a legitimate competitive effort. That is what this transaction gives us; the capability, scope and scale to get to the next level and pose as a legitimate competitor.”
GHCO, launched in 2005, will be incorporated as a subsidiary of Mirae Asset Securities in the first half of 2023, subject to regulatory approval.
Izzo (pictured), who has long been a proponent of shifting ETF trading volumes away from request for quote platforms and onto exchanges, will remain as CEO following the acquisition.
Meanwhile, GHCO’s head of trading and managing partner Stefan Kaba-Ferreiro is leaving to establish his own crypto business.
In a LinkedIn post, Kaba-Ferreiro wrote: “I will be completing my handover in London over the next couple of months and taking some time to recharge as the last few years in markets have been relentless.
“My partner and friend Dan is continuing on as CEO with new investors...as well as the rest of the excellent team.” In August, Mirae Asset Securities took its first steps in the European market with the appointment of
former Tradeweb director of ETF sales Alex Gladkow.
Gladkow joined the business as an “ETF ambassador” in Europe, responsible for enhancing the strategic direction of the firm as a trusted partner in the European ETF space.
The latest acquisition is a sign the group is looking to expand its ETF capabilities beyond asset management.
Mirae is currently represented in the European ETF market by Global X, which it acquired in 2018, with the firm embarking on a rapid expansion of its European ETF range this year.
Izzo added GHCO will continue to operate as an independent firm to avoid “conflicts of interest” with other ETF issuers.
In June, Mirae Asset Global Investments and Global X acquired ETF Securities Australia, which housed
roughly A$4.7bn assets under management (AUM) at the time of purchase.
The firm currently runs ETFs in the US, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
Mirae Asset Securities (USA) Inc. Appointed as Fully Disclosed Clearing Broker for Cboe’s New U.S. Treasuries Trading Platform
New York, NY, December 05, 2022 --(PR.com)-- Mirae Asset Securities (USA) Inc. today announced it will serve as the fully disclosed clearing broker of Cboe Global Markets’ new U.S. Treasuries trading platform. As a DTCC Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) member, Mirae will help ensure anonymity on the platform, with all trades on the platform facing Mirae and settling against the FICC.
Mirae Launches US Overnight Trading Services
Mirae Launches US Overnight Trading Services New York, NY October 12, 2022 --(PR.com)-- Mirae Asset Securities (USA) Inc. announced the launch of US overnight trading services for clients.