Samsung Asset to launch S.Korea's first obesity treatment ETF

Korea Exchange announced on Thursday that it will list Samsung Asset Management's "KODEX Global Obesity Treatment Top 2 Plus exchange-traded fund (ETF)" on the Korea Exchange on Feb. 14.

This fund is the first obesity treatment-themed ETF in South Korea and invests in 10 global companies related to obesity treatment in the US and Europe.

Last year, obesity treatment has shown the most prominent growth in the global pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. It's driven by the increasing popularity of GLP-1 series obesity treatments, which were originally used for diabetes treatment.

The fund currently invests 25% each in Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the leading players in the industry, and the remaining eight stocks are equally weighted at 6.25%.

The selection of stocks includes companies with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Europe's European Medicines Agency (EMA)-approved obesity treatments or weight loss drugs, or companies conducting clinical trials.

The price per account is 10,000 won ($7.53).

Write to Hyo-Sung Jeon at zeon@hankyung.com