Samsung Asset Management's bond-type ETF assets exceed $7.9 billion

Investment in South Korea is pouring into bond-type exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the anticipation that interest rate hikes end this year.

Such funds of Samsung Asset Management, the country's top company of its kind in managed asset amount, have exceeded 10 trillion won ($7.9 billion) in net assets.

The company on Thursday said the combined net assets of 19 types of its Kodex bond-type ETFs reached 10.2 trillion won as of Tuesday, the first time for the funds to break 10 trillion won in net assets.

The net assets of all bond-type ETFs listed in Korea reached 24 trillion won, 42% of which were Samsung Asset Management products. The net assets of Kodex bond-type ETFs, which was 4.6 trillion won early last year, more than doubled in 12 months.

The company's ETFs with over 1 trillion won in funds included the Kodex KOFR Interest Rate Active with 3.2 trillion, Kodex Composite Bond Active rated "AA-" or above with 2.5 trillion won and Kodex Short-Term Bond Plus with 1.2 trillion won.

Bond prices have an inverse movement to that of interest rates. Investors can earn a profit by buying bonds when interest rates rise and selling them when rates fall.

"We need to raise our interest in bond investment given the significant rise in interest rates," said Lim Tae-hyeok, head of ETF operations at Samsung Asset Management.

Write to Tae-Hoon Lee at beje@hankyung.com