Since the beginning of 2026, South Korean retail investors have resumed their aggressive purchasing strategy, heavily targeting leading Chinese artificial intelligence stocks. Data indicates that the top Hong Kong-listed stock by net purchase amount from South Korean investors this year is the AI giant MiniMax-WP.

According to SEIbro data from Korea Securities Depository (KSD), as of February 10, the top ten Hong Kong stocks purchased by South Korean investors this year are MiniMax-WP, Huaxia CSI 300 ETF, Lansus Technology, iShares Hang Seng Tech ETF, CSOP Daily Leveraged Samsung Electronics ETF, Innoscience, Premia China Caixin 50 ETF, WuXi XDC, Ascletis Pharma, and Global X China Semiconductor ETF.

Specifically, South Korean investors bought $20.6712 million worth of MiniMax-WP, $19.1822 million of Huaxia CSI 300 ETF, $18.6471 million of Lansus Technology, $7.3647 million of iShares Hang Seng Tech ETF, $7.325 million of CSOP Daily Leveraged Samsung Electronics ETF, $4.1663 million of Innoscience, $3.3795 million of Premia China Caixin 50 ETF, $3.1255 million of WuXi XDC, $2.4478 million of Ascletis Pharma, and $2.0711 million of Global X China Semiconductor ETF.

MiniMax listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 9, 2026. Its public offering was oversubscribed by 1,837 times, while the international offering was 37 times oversubscribed, attracting strong interest from both institutional and retail investors.

This follows significant buying activity last year, although the preferences of South Korean investors have shifted in 2026. In 2025, the top ten Hong Kong stocks by net purchase amount from South Korean investors were Xiaomi Group, Global X China Semiconductor ETF, UBTech, Alibaba-W, Lao Feng Xiang, SMIC, CSOP Daily Leveraged SK Hynix ETF, BeiGene, Seres Group, and CATL. For the full year 2025, net purchases of Xiaomi Group amounted to $87.7506 million. So far this year, net purchases of MiniMax-WP have already surpassed $20 million.

The surge in South Korean retail investment in overseas stocks is significant. In December 2025, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) released interim findings from a review of overseas investment practices at major securities firms and asset managers. Data showed that commissions from overseas stock transactions at the 12 largest securities firms reached a record 1.95 trillion won (approximately $13 billion) between January and November 2025, more than triple the 581 billion won from the same period a year earlier. Foreign exchange fee income related to retail overseas investment transactions also more than tripled in the same period, rising from 147.7 billion won to 452.6 billion won.