Important Information
Investors should not base investment decisions on this material alone. Please refer to the Prospectus for details including the product features and the risk factors. Investment involves risks. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. There is no guarantee of the repayment of the principal. Investors should note:
- The investment objective of Global X Japan Global Leaders ETF (the “Fund”) is to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, closely correspond to the performance of the FactSet Japan Global Leaders Index.
- The Underlying Index is reconstituted annually. Securities that no longer meet the eligibility criteria may remain in the index until the next scheduled annual reconstitution. The index’s representativeness is not guaranteed to be optimised from time to time.
- The Fund is exposed to concentration risk by tracking a single region or country.
- The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and may be adversely affected by protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies, political tensions with its trading partners and their economic conditions, natural disasters and commodity prices.
- The base currency of the Fund is JPY but the trading currency of the Fund is in HKD. The NAV of the Fund and its performance may be affected by fluctuations in the exchange rates between these currencies and the base currency and by changes in exchange rate controls.
- The trading price of the Fund’s unit on the SEHK is driven by secondary market trading factors, which may lead to a substantial premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value.
- The Manager may at its discretion pay dividends out of the capital of the Fund. Distributions paid out of capital, represent a return of an investor’s original investment or its gains and may potentially reduce the Fund’s Net Asset Value per Share as well as the capital available for future investment.
- The Fund may suffer from a losses or delays when recovering the securities lent out. This may potentially affect its ability to meet payment and redemption obligations. Collateral shortfalls due to inaccurate pricing or change of value of securities lent, may cause significant losses to the Fund.
- Global X Asia Semiconductor ETF’s (the “Fund’s”) investment in equity securities is subject to general market risks, whose value may fluctuate due to various factors, such as changes in investment sentiment, political and economic conditions and issuer-specific factors.
- Semiconductor industry may be affected by particular economic or market events, such as domestic and international competition pressures, rapid obsolescence of products, the economic performance of the customers of semiconductor companies and capital equipment expenditures. These companies rely on significant spending on research and development that may cause the value of securities of all companies within this sector of the market to deteriorate.
- Some Asian securities exchanges (including Mainland China) may have the right to suspend or limit trading in any security traded on the relevant exchange. The government or the regulators may also implement policies that may affect the financial markets. Some Asian markets may have higher entry barrier for investments as identification number or certificate may have to be obtained for securities trading. All these may have a negative impact on the Fund.
- The Fund invests in emerging markets which may involve increased risks and special considerations not typically associated with investment in more developed markets, such as liquidity risks, currency risks/control, political and economic uncertainties, legal and taxation risks, settlement risks, custody risk, currency devaluation, inflation and the likelihood of a high degree of volatility.
- The trading price of the Fund’s unit (the “Unit”) on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong is driven by market factors such as demand and supply of the Unit. Therefore, the Units may trade at a substantial premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value.
- The Fund’s synthetic replication strategy will involve investing up to 50% of its net asset value in financial derivative instruments (“FDIs”), mainly funded total return swap transaction(s) through one or more counterparty(ies). Risks associated with FDIs include counterparty/credit risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, volatility risk and over-the-counter transaction risk. FDIs are susceptible to price fluctuations and higher volatility, and may have large bid and offer spreads and no active secondary markets. The leverage element/component of an FDI can result in a loss significantly greater than the amount invested in the FDI by the Sub-Fund.
- As part of the securities lending transactions, there is a risk of shortfall of collateral value due to inaccurate pricing of the securities lent or change of value of securities lent. This may cause significant losses to the Fund. The borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund may suffer from a loss or delay when recovering the securities lent out. This may restrict the Fund’s ability in meeting delivery or payment obligations from realisation requests.
- The investment objective of Global X K-pop and Culture ETF (the “Fund”) is to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, closely correspond to the performance of the Solactive K-pop and Culture Index.
- The Fund is exposed to concentration risk by tracking a single region or country.
- The base currency of the Fund is KRW but the trading currency of the Fund is in HKD. The NAV of the Fund and its performance may be affected by fluctuations in the exchange rates between these currencies and the base currency and by changes in exchange rate controls.
- The Index constituents may be concentrated in a specific industry or sector, which may potentially more volatile than a fund with a diversified portfolio.
- The Fund may invest in small and/or mid-sized companies, which may have lower liquidity and their prices are more volatile to adverse economic developments.
- The trading price of the Fund’s unit on the SEHK is driven by secondary market trading factors, which may lead to a substantial premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value.
- The Manager may at its discretion pay dividends out of the capital of the Fund. Distributions paid out of capital, represent a return of an investor’s original investment or its gains and may potentially reduce the Fund’s Net Asset Value per Share as well as the capital available for future investment.
- The Fund may suffer from a losses or delays when recovering the securities lent out. This may potentially affect its ability to meet payment and redemption obligations. Collateral shortfalls due to inaccurate pricing or change of value of securities lent, may cause significant losses to the Fund.
Monthly Commentary
Global Thematic ETFs – October 2025
Global X Japan Global Leaders ETF (3150)
Industry Update
In September 2025, the FactSet Japan Global Leaders Index recorded 2.9% returns in JPY terms (FactSet, September 2025). The slowdown in US labor market and the Fed rate cut supported US and Japan equity market performance. Despite the Fed’s resumption of rate cuts, the yen weakened, leading overseas demand-driven cyclicals (e.g., electric appliances and machinery) to outperform and defensives to underperform. On 4 Oct 2024, Takaichi was elected as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), marking a historic milestone as the party’s first female president. She is expected to be appointed as the prime minister following the selection process in mid-October. Nikkei 225 reached a new historical high on the news, as the market brace for Takaichi’s fiscal expansion and monetary easing. Corporate governance reform continues to bear fruits and remains a key theme for Japan investments.
Stock Comments
Sony returned 11% in the month, a key contributor to the ETF. The company reported better than expected quarterly results. Game & Network Services segment growth was strong thanks to higher network services sales and better profitability with cost optimization. The company also slightly revised up its FY3/26 full-year guidance thanks to strong G&NS growth and better-than-feared US tariff. (Company data, September 2025)
Preview
New administration should be supportive for Japan equity market with fiscal expansion and monetary easing policy. While short term outlook remains uncertain given slowing global/US economy and political events uncertainty, we remain constructive over Japan stock market in the long term, as supported by a combination of robust export growth, recovering domestic demand, and ongoing corporate reform. JPY appreciation is a key market concern as it could weigh on Japanese corporate earnings, but gradual appreciation should be manageable for global investors as it is also positive for dollar-denominated returns (without currency hedging). (JP Morgan, August 2025)
Global X Asia Semiconductor ETF (3119)
Industry Update
Record-Low Memory Stock Could Signal Supercycle Ahead, Likely Peaking by 2027
With top memory makers reportedly raising prices amid tight supply, by the end of Q3 2025, global DRAM inventories averaged just 3.3 weeks—matching the lows of 2018 and signaling a supercycle in the memory market could be on the way. TrendForce notes that the three major DRAM suppliers are prioritizing advanced process capacity for high-end server DRAM and HBM, limiting supply for PC, mobile, and consumer segments. As a result, conventional DRAM prices are projected to rise 8–13% quarter-on-quarter in 4Q25, with increases reaching 13–18% when HBM is included. Meanwhile, NAND Flash contract prices across all categories are also expected to climb, with an average gain of 5–10% in 4Q25 (TrendForce, October 2025)
China seeks to triple output of AI chips in race with the US
China’s chipmakers are seeking to triple the country’s total output of artificial intelligence processors next year, as Beijing races the US to develop the most advanced AI. Chinese companies are also racing to develop the next generation of AI chips adaptable to a standard advocated for by DeepSeek, which has emerged as the country’s leading AI start-up. Combined capacity from these three new plants, once fully ramped up, could exceed the current total output of similar lines at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) (FT, October 2025)
Stock Comments
SK Hynix +28.09% – SK Hynix share rallied with improved outlook for the memory industry. First, demand for HBM (high bandwidth memory) used in AI chips is growing at a rapid pace, while the bit density of HBM in next generation AI platforms continue to move higher. HBM chips have larger die size and lower yield per wafer which consumes more wafer i.e. DRAM capacity compared to standard DRAM. This results in tight supply in DRAM supporting DRAM price. Second, top memory makers scheduled to phase out DDR4 rapidly, however many products such as a portion of the smartphone market still relies on DDR4, the demand supply mismatch drove DDR4 price to rally meaningfully YTD. Third, prudent supply strategy in NAND globally combined with demand for eSSD driven by hyperscalers provide support to NAND pricing. (Company data, September 2025)
SMIC +31.4% – The company provided upbeat 3Q guidance. SMIC’s 3Q25 revenue guidance is +5-7% Q/Q, driven by increases in both wafer shipment and blended ASP. Management noted that they will still run at a high UTR thanks to robust orders, especially on the power discrete platform. With UTR expected to remain high, the depreciation burden from capacity expansion should ease. Therefore, SMIC guided 3Q25 GM to be 18-20%. (Company data, September 2025)
Preview Quarterly Earnings Review
Increasing AI adoption in the data centre and increasing penetration of AI at the edge and on-device will be the key enabler of next upcycle semiconductor as AI-enabled devices have much higher semi-content. We expect volume growth in end devices to drive broad-based semiconductor cycle recovery in 2025. (Mirae Asset, 2025)
Global X K-pop and Culture ETF (3158)
Market Update
In September, KOSPI rose 7.5% to 3,424, making Korea the top-performing market worldwide for both the month and YTD. This rally was primarily driven by IT and tech sectors. Korea experienced net foreign equity inflows of US$5.1bn in September. The Solactive K-Pop & Culture Index underperformed the broader KOSPI due to sector rotation and K-pop sector’s YTD rally. We maintain positive outlook on K-pop sector’s fundamental mid-term recovery. The breakout success of K-Pop Demon Hunters (KDH), which could become one of Netflix’s most-watched content items, underscores K-content phenomenon in global market. We believe this cultural boom is a key catalyst driving increased international consumption of Korean cosmetics and food products, such as noodles. Furthermore, we continue to see K-pop as a direct beneficiary of thawing Korea-China relations under the new government.
Stock Comments
Naver Corp (035420 KS): Naver recorded 25% return in September. 2Q25 revenue and OP came broadly in-line, with stronger-than-expected Commerce and Content, partially offsetting weaker results in Search Platform and Enterprise. Management is accelerating AI features. The company has lifted its target to increase AI Briefing coverage to 20% by year-end from previous 10%+, and plans to launch an AI search tab in 2026. Additionally, Naver aims to introduce an AI shopping agent, an upgraded version of its current AI shopping guide. The company has also announced plans to shift its “on-service AI” approach to model orchestration, utilizing open-source global AI models. (Company data, Mirae Asset, September 2025)
HYBE (352820 KS): HYBE experienced 7% loss in September. 2Q25 revenue and OP were in line with consensus. Album sales volume rebounded to over 10m, driven by recent returns from major artists such as Jin, Seventeen, and Enhypen. While we remain optimistic about HYBE’s earnings recovery for 2025 and 2026, the stock’s YTD rally suggests potential downside risks. (Company data, Mirae Asset, September 2025)
Preview
We maintain positive on the rise of K-Pop and cultural phenomenon in global market. Amid Trump tariff risk, we believe K-pop industry is less vulnerable thanks to its unique cultural and fandom characteristics, as well as the potential for price increases to mitigate the effects. Meanwhile, following Lee Jae-Myung’s victory in presidential election, we see K-pop sector as a key beneficiary of improving Korea-China relations under the new government, benefiting from the potential resumption of commercial activities and fan engagement in China. Top artists comebacks, such as Blackpink and BTS, further support the fundamental improvement. We expect this cultural wave to continuously provide a halo effect towards Korean goods such as cosmetics and packaged food.
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