Samsung Securities (016360.KS) said Wednesday that its Returning Investment Account (RIA), designed to lure overseas-stock investors back to the domestic market, surpassed 100 billion won ($73 million) in total balance and 10,000 accounts within two weeks of launch.
The RIA account drew strong interest from overseas-stock investors immediately after its debut on December 23, with deposits growing rapidly. The average balance per account currently stands at approximately 10 million won.
Big-tech names favored by so-called "seo-hak gaemi" (Korean retail investors in foreign stocks) dominated the list of most-deposited stocks into Samsung Securities' RIA accounts. Nvidia topped the list at 20 billion won, followed by Tesla at 8 billion won and Apple and Alphabet at 5 billion won each.
Samsung Securities is running promotional campaigns including an "RIA Fee Discount Event" and an "RIA Account Opening Event" to boost adoption. Details are available on Samsung Securities' website, its mobile app mPOP, and Family Centers. "With the valuation appeal of the Korean stock market being reassessed, we expect the RIA account to help revitalize long-term investment in Korean equities," a Samsung Securities official said.
The RIA account offers a temporary capital gains tax reduction on overseas stocks when investors sell their foreign holdings, convert the proceeds to won, and reinvest in the domestic market on a long-term basis. Investors must deposit and sell overseas stocks held as of December 23 last year and reinvest in domestic equities for at least one year. Depending on the timing of the sale, capital gains tax can be reduced by 50 to 100 percent on sales proceeds of up to 50 million won.