The same SK Hynix share costs 49% more in New York than in Seoul. The reason is simple: the channel for converting Seoul shares into US shares (ADRs) has been shut, so nobody could sell the expensive one and buy the cheap one. On July 15, Korea's securities depository confirmed it will open that channel after July 29. What happens next is predictable: buy cheap in Seoul, convert, sell dear in New York. That flow pushes Seoul up and New York down until the gap shrinks. TSMC, which has a similar setup, trades at a steady 16-17% gap, so that's roughly the landing zone. There are brakes, though: only a small slice of shares can convert for now, and regulators will loosen it slowly while watching the currency. Meru's one-liner: good news if you hold in Seoul. Just not today.
Why it matters · The 49% premium was a gauge of blocked demand. From July 29 it becomes a trade with a mechanism, and the convergence flow buys Seoul.
Worth asking · After July 29, how far does the SK Hynix ADR premium compress?