South Korea’s AI chip investor announces plan for share buybacks

SK Square, the holding company of SK Hynix, a maker of artificial intelligence chips, on Thursday announced a plan to buy back shares and nominate an independent director as part of efforts to boost shareholder value.

The plan came after London-based hedge fund Palliser Capital this year proposed changes to address the undervaluation of the company and South Korea’s government has implemented a “Value-Up” programme to bolster stock prices.

SK Square said it plans to cancel 100 billion won ($71.51 million) worth of shares that it had bought back in April, while planning to repurchase another 100 billion won worth of shares within the next three months and cancel those shares.

It also announced other measures to boost the value of the company, which holds a 20% stake in SK Hynix, a South Korean firm that posted a record quarterly profit thanks to booming AI chip demand from customer Nvidia.

SK Square’s market value is less than half the $18 billion value of the stake it holds in SK Hynix.

Palliser Capital acquired a 1% stake in the company this year, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that the two have had talks on enhancing shareholder returns.

This year, the Korea Exchange, a securities exchange operator in the country, launched a new stock market index comprised of listed companies making an effort to raise market value, hoping to give companies an incentive to follow the government’s initiative.