July 28: South Korea's KOSPI plunged 10.84% to 6,023.63 as Samsung Electronics
fell 13.39%, its largest one-day drop in 18 years, and SK Hynix tumbled 14.65%,
roughly halving from June highs. Several Korean outlets linked the rout to the
IPO/listing of China's largest semiconductor firm ChangXin Memory, saying
investors fear funds raised could accelerate its catch-up with Samsung and SK
Hynix. Z-Ben Advisors analyst Peter Alexander told CNBC that, by analogy with
steel and electric-vehicle sectors, ChangXin could rapidly capture low-end
memory market share and ultimately challenge the dominance of Samsung, SK Hynix
and Micron.
