Shares of SK Hynix surged +8.5% to €968.00 on its Frankfurt-listed shares after South Korea's Asia Business Daily reported that Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek is planning to invest directly in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. The move comes after a bruising July selloff and raises a pointed question: is one of the world's savviest state investors telling the market that memory chips are still underpriced — or chasing a trade that has already run?
A $400 Billion Fund Calls Memory Chips Undervalued
Temasek reportedly believes memory semiconductors remain an undervalued segment within the AI supply chain — even though shares of Samsung and SK Hynix have skyrocketed over 880% from their lows last year.
If the investment materializes, it would mark Temasek's first entry into the South Korean stock market through direct equity holdings. That distinction matters: Temasek's internal team will execute the trades directly rather than delegating to external asset managers , signaling high-conviction, not a passive allocation.
The July Rout Set the Stage for a Bounce
The chipmakers saw a brutal selloff in July as doubts grew over the pace of rapid AI infrastructure buildout, leading to an unwinding of leveraged positions. SK Hynix's Frankfurt-listed shares fell from €1,005 on Aug. 5 to €872 by Aug. 10 — a 13% drawdown in days. Shares have been rebounding recently as focus shifted to shareholder return policies the companies are planning. Temasek's reported interest gave that bounce a powerful institutional endorsement.
Massive Capacity Bets Underpin the Bull Case
SK Hynix announced it will invest 54 trillion Korean won ($38.1 billion) to build two new memory chip manufacturing plants , a bet that demand from AI data centers will persist. The company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025, with profits doubling to about $28 billion.
Both Samsung and SK Hynix were still trading up more than 100% apiece so far in 2026 , even after the July correction.
No Dollar Amount, No Timeline — Just Confidence Investors should note what hasn't been confirmed: the size or timing of Temasek's investment. Temasek did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If Temasek indeed views memory manufacturers as undervalued, the investment would represent a bet not only on continued AI spending growth but on a larger share of value shifting toward memory suppliers. For shareholders, the signal may matter more than the capital — when a $404 billion fund calls your stock cheap, the market listens.