Samsung, SK Hynix Payouts to Fuel Rate Hikes, Mirae Asset Says

The extraordinary wealth generated from South Korean chipmakers will drive spending and inflation, spurring the nation’s central bank to raise interest rates at least three times over the coming year, according to Mirae Asset Global Investments.

Chipmakers’ employee bonuses and high chip prices, as well as booming stocks, are likely to keep prices elevated, and push the Bank of Korea’s policy rate to as high as 3.5% by the second half of 2027 from the current 2.5%, Choi Jinyoung, Mirae’s head of fixed-income and executive managing director, said Tuesday in an interview. Korea’s 10-year sovereign yield is likely to break at least above 4% in the next two months for the first time since 2023, he added.