It may have had a tough time of late but consumer electronics and technology hardware outfit Samsung (005930:KRX) still dominates the South Korean market.

If you include the preference shares it has a near-30% weighting in the MSCI Korea index. However, there are some other interesting businesses beyond Samsung. Number two is SK Hynix (000660:KRX) which is one of the world’s largest semiconductor vendors whose major customers include Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) and Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ).

Other major constituents include banking and insurance institutions KB Financial (105560:KRX) and Shinhan Financial (055550:KRX) as well as online platform and search engine Naver (035420:KRX).

Hyundai Motor (005380:KRX) and Kia Corporation (000270:KRX) will be familiar to many UK motorists and both have a decent footprint in the hybrid market which is proving popular as people look to move away from traditional combustion engine vehicles but remain somewhat wary of going fully electric.

Biopharmaceutical business Celitron (068270:KRX) specialises in biosimilars – versions of previously approved medications which are intended to be more affordable for patients.

Steel manufacturer POSCO (005490:KRX) can trace its origins back to the 1960s when the country decided it needed to be self-sufficient in steel. Today it serves global markets including geographies like India and China.

This outlook is part of a series being sponsored by Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust. For more information on the trust, visit www.temit.co.uk

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