Korea developments in September
The Korean market presents a combination of attractive valuations and underlying reform catalysts. On the latter point, several important developments occurred during September:
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The second amendment to the Commercial Act came into force. This bars large listed companies from opting out of cumulative voting in their articles of incorporation, and the requirement applies from the first shareholders’ meeting held to elect directors after the effective date. It covers listed firms with assets above two trillion won, and it raises the number of audit committee members who must be elected separately to two. Despite some defensive measures from companies (e.g. staggered boards), we look forward to seeing the impact of cumulative voting in 2027 AGMs. ... more
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Round two for WUS
On 10 June we wrote our first open letter to WUS Printed Circuit, a Taiwan-listed PCB manufacturer with a stake in a Shenzhen-listed company worth around four times its market cap. The company had been ignoring our requests for engagement, so we were forced to go public with suggestions on how to improve the company’s governance and reduce the shares’ 80% discount to net asset value. ... more
Why Korea remains Metrica's largest exposure
Despite the widespread perception of many Korea stocks as “value traps”, Metrica is excited about opportunities in this market for five reasons.
First, while the market has all but ignored the corporate reform theme over the last few months, the drumbeat of policy debate and regulatory implementation continues in the background. We can group the major initiatives into three categories according to progress: ... more
Metrica Partners Publishes Open Letter to the Board of WUS Printed Circuit Co., Ltd. (TWSE: 2316) After Company Fails to Respond to Shareholder Engagement
Singapore-based investment firm calls on WUS to address an ~80% discount to net asset value, its capital-allocation policy, and its investor-communication practices ahead of the Company’s 12 June 2026 Annual General Meeting
SINGAPORE — 10 June 2026 — Metrica Partners Pte. Ltd. (“Metrica”), a shareholder of WUS Printed Circuit Co., Ltd. (TWSE: 2316) (“WUS” or the “Company”) holding approximately 1.5% of its issued shares, today published an open letter to the Company’s Board of Directors. Metrica is releasing the letter publicly, on its website at http://metricapartners.com, while simultaneously delivering it to the directors of WUS by email and in hard copy. ... more
WUS Printed Circuit: Demand for engagement on persistent NAV discount, capital allocation, and the Company's investor-communication obligations
Metrica Partners Pte. Ltd. 1 Raffles Place #10-63 One Raffles Place Tower 2 Singapore 048616
10 June 2026
BY EMAIL (investor@wuspc.com) AND REGISTERED POST
The Board of Directors c/o Ms. Mandy Lu, Spokesperson (and Mr. Chinan Chen, Acting Spokesperson), WUS Printed Circuit Co., Ltd., No. 37 Kai Fa Road, Nanzih District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Re: Demand for engagement on persistent NAV discount, capital allocation, and the Company’s investor-communication obligations
Dear Members of the Board,
We write as the manager of investment funds that are the beneficial holders of approximately 1.5% of the issued share capital of WUS Printed Circuit Co., Ltd. (the “Company”), a holding we have built and intend to maintain. We are long-term shareholders writing in good faith, but with considerable and growing concern. ... more
楠梓電子股份有限公司: 謹就貴公司股價長期大幅折價於淨值、資本配置政策，以及貴公司作為上市公司之投資人溝通義務，請求與董事會進行溝通。
Metrica Partners Pte. Ltd. 1 Raffles Place #10-63 One Raffles Place Tower 2 Singapore 048616
2026年6月10日
經電子郵件寄送（investor@wuspc.com）並以掛號郵件寄送
受文者：楠梓電子股份有限公司 董事會 公鑒 （敬請發言人呂淑芬副總經理，暨代理發言人陳其男先生 轉陳） 地址：臺灣高雄市楠梓區開發路37號
主旨：謹就貴公司股價長期大幅折價於淨值、資本配置政策，以及貴公司作為上市公司之投資人溝通義務，請求與董事會進行溝通。
敬啟者：
本基金管理人謹代表旗下投資基金致函。各該基金為楠梓電子股份有限公司（以下簡稱「貴公司」）**已發行股本約****1.5%**之實質受益持有人，此一持股係我方逐步建立並擬長期持有。我方為長期股東，本於善意致函，惟對相關事項抱持高度且日益升高之關切。 ... more
Metrica: "Measures against duplicate exchange listings, 'ban on new listings' insufficient"
Seoul is moving forward with the in-principle ban on new parent-subsidiary listings (otherwise known as “duplicate listings”). However, the “Korea Discount” can never be resolved until existing parent-subsidiary listings, which make up 18% of the market, are also dealt with. ... more
The new gold standard
Several positive developments in the corporate reform space occurred in January: ... more
History does repeat
In 2024, excitement over the Value-up programme gave way to pessimism as President Yoon’s unpopularity meant nothing got done. Many of the listed stocks which should have benefited from Value-up – namely, those where corporate governance or capital allocation concerns were depressing the share price – rallied sharply but then fell back later in the year, in many cases to below preannouncement levels. ... more
Carrots and sticks redux
We recently participated in a panel discussing corporate reform focusing on Japan and South Korea. As evidenced by the strong turn-out, interest in this topic is very high. In general, the panel was optimistic on the prospect of Korea corporate reform eventually replicating the success of Japan. While the Korean market naturally has its own long-standing and wellknown structural challenges – deriving mainly from the dominance of founding families – the significant rise in retail ownership in recent years should continue to incentivise politicians to push ahead with reforms even when faced with fierce resistance from entrenched interests. ... more