Korea Pumps $800 M into SpaceX, Rockets Musk’s Stock

South Koreans bought nearly $798.6 million worth of SpaceX stock on the day it went public. The purchases represented around 3.2% of the shares available for public trading, with South Korea being one of the largest sources of offshore demand after the IPO.

The buying spree followed reports that a lot of international investors did not receive allocations during SpaceX's highly anticipated public debut. Demand shifted swiftly to the secondary market following trading opening as investors scramble for a slice of one of the world's most highly valued private tech firms turned public issuer.

According to figures out of South Korea, more than 64,000 investment accounts engaged in the trade, indicating the high demand, even for a nation which has some of the most active retail traders.

Interest Spans Outside of the US

The widespread buying spree reflects wider patterns in the global capital markets with investors venturing beyond their domestic bourses to pursue growth opportunities.

The various divisions of SpaceX that have captured investor interest over recent years- commercial launch services, satellite communications, broadband- have proven to be high growth areas. The company has become one of the largest players in the burgeoning satellite internet space with its Starlink network.

Predictions place the size of the global space economy to be worth over $1 trillion per annum over the next couple of decades as a growing volume of spending by government and private firms continues on communications, defense and space infrastructure projects.

The listings have become a fixture in public markets, attracting a wider scope of participants, although South Korea's buying was the biggest amongst Asian markets for SpaceX shares alongside demand from Japanese, Singaporean and Hong Kong investors.

Early movement for SpaceX suggests that major listings in the US will likely continue to be met by demand not only from Wall Street but also from retail investors across Asia.

FAQs

Q1. How did South Korean regulators enable retail investors to buy foreign shares in 2026?
In February 2026 the Financial Services Commission amended the Foreign Investment Act, raising the individual foreign‑equity holding limit to 5 % and eliminating the extra tax‑reporting requirement, which allowed direct purchases on overseas exchanges.

Q2. What share of SpaceX’s float did Korean investors purchase?
They bought roughly 3.2 % of the total shares floated on the debut day.

Q3. Which platform processed most of the Korean orders?
The majority of purchases executed through the KOSPI market using the cross‑border settlement rule.

Q4. Can Builders use this data to justify a secondary listing?
Yes, the demonstrated demand shows that a secondary listing on an Asian exchange can attract substantial retail capital, supporting a higher valuation for high‑growth firms.

Source: Bloomberg

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