The Korea Fund, Inc.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM N-Q

 

 

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act file number: 811-04058

 

 

The Korea Fund, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

 

 

1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

 

Orhan Dzemaili

1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-739-3357

Date of fiscal year end: June 30

Date of reporting period: September 30, 2018

 

 


Item 1. Schedule of Investments

Schedule of Investments

The Korea Fund, Inc.

September 30, 2018 (unaudited)

 

Shares            Value*  

COMMON STOCK—97.2%

 

Airlines—1.3%

 
     53,111      Jeju Air Co., Ltd.    $ 1,795,665  
     51,444      Jin Air Co., Ltd.      1,003,818  
        

 

 

 
           2,799,483  
        

 

 

 

Auto Components—0.5%

 
     5,748      Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.      1,181,469  
        

 

 

 

Automobiles—2.6%

 
     49,354      Hyundai Motor Co.      5,761,024  
        

 

 

 

Banks—11.1%

 
     160,770      Hana Financial Group, Inc.      6,455,365  
     178,192      KB Financial Group, Inc.      8,678,658  
     199,407      Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd.      8,057,733  
     107,130      Woori Bank      1,631,295  
        

 

 

 
           24,823,051  
        

 

 

 

Biotechnology—2.1%

 
     17,465      Celltrion, Inc. (d)(e)      4,680,548  
        

 

 

 

Capital Markets—0.3%

 
     98,190      Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., Ltd.      749,650  
        

 

 

 

Chemicals—4.4%

 
     26,890      LG Chem Ltd.      8,858,756  
     3,714      Lotte Chemical Corp.      930,757  
        

 

 

 
           9,789,513  
        

 

 

 

Construction & Engineering—0.6%

 
     23,506      Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.      1,429,644  
        

 

 

 

Electric Utilities—1.0%

 
     82,639      Korea Electric Power Corp.      2,187,320  
        

 

 

 

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components—3.8%

 
     68,037      Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.      8,521,549  
        

 

 

 

Entertainment—0.6%

 
     3,271      NCSoft Corp.      1,305,043  
        

 

 

 

Food & Staples Retailing—3.4%

 
     27,066      E-MART, Inc.      5,063,892  
     74,152      GS Retail Co., Ltd.      2,574,339  
        

 

 

 
           7,638,231  
        

 

 

 

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure—4.2%

 
     39,280      Hana Tour Service, Inc.      2,616,326  
     190,306      Kangwon Land, Inc.      4,923,699  
     80,760      Modetour Network, Inc.      1,831,040  
        

 

 

 
           9,371,065  
        

 

 

 

Household Durables—1.6%

 
     56,225      LG Electronics, Inc.      3,597,873  
        

 

 

 

Industrial Conglomerates—2.2%

 
     75,918      LG Corp.      4,969,217  
        

 

 

 

Insurance—6.2%

 
     67,718      DB Insurance Co., Ltd.      4,444,327  
     105,863      Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.      4,001,754  
     342,719      Korean Reinsurance Co.      3,229,042  
     40,804      Orange Life Insurance Ltd. (a)      1,254,500  
     9,538      Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd.      836,624  
        

 

 

 
           13,766,247  
        

 

 

 

Interactive Media & Services—4.0%

 
     57,400      AfreecaTV Co., Ltd.      1,851,481  
     11,071      NAVER Corp.      7,145,879  
        

 

 

 
           8,997,360  
        

 

 

 


Shares            Value*  

IT Services—0.4%

  
     4,627      Samsung SDS Co., Ltd.    $ 963,405  
        

 

 

 

Life Sciences Tools & Services—1.5%

  
     6,873      Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd. (a)(d)(e)      3,307,442  
        

 

 

 

Machinery—4.0%

  
     97,576      Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (d)(e)      3,047,681  
     48,774      Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (e)      5,911,775  
        

 

 

 
           8,959,456  
        

 

 

 

Marine—2.5%

  
     1,165,557      Pan Ocean Co., Ltd. (d)(e)      5,505,433  
        

 

 

 

Metals & Mining—3.7%

 
     2,550      Korea Zinc Co., Ltd.      1,002,125  
     27,524      POSCO      7,306,154  
        

 

 

 
           8,308,279  
        

 

 

 

Multi-Line Retail—0.5%

 
     3,418      Shinsegae, Inc.      1,117,439  
        

 

 

 

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels—2.4%

 
     11,620      S-Oil Corp.      1,435,322  
     20,460      SK Innovation Co., Ltd.      3,965,966  
        

 

 

 
           5,401,288  
        

 

 

 

Personal Products—4.1%

 
     6,375      Amorepacific Corp.      1,499,454  
     6,727      LG Household & Health Care Ltd.      7,736,840  
        

 

 

 
           9,236,294  
        

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals—0.4%

 
     2,229      Hanmi Pharm Co., Ltd.      1,004,640  
        

 

 

 

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment—2.3%

 
     78,561      SK Hynix, Inc.      5,197,427  
        

 

 

 

Specialty Retail—0.7%

 
     25,670      LOTTE Himart Co., Ltd.      1,543,753  
        

 

 

 

Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals—21.3%

 
     1,141,871      Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.      47,788,276  
        

 

 

 

Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods—3.5%

 
     192,740      Fila Korea Ltd.      7,797,237  
        

 

 

 
      Total Common Stock (cost—$156,449,763)      217,698,656  
        

 

 

 

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS—4.8%

  

Collateral Invested for Securities on Loan (c)—4.8%

  
     10,663,305      BlackRock T-Fund, Institutional Class (cost—$10,663,305)      10,663,305  
        

 

 

 
      Total Investments (cost-$167,113,068) (b)(f)—102.0%      228,361,961  
        

 

 

 
      Liabilities in excess of other assets—(2.0)%      (4,490,485
        

 

 

 
     

Net Assets—100.0%

   $ 223,871,476  
        

 

 

 

 

Notes to Schedule of Investments:

 

*

Portfolio securities and other financial instruments for which market quotations are readily available are stated at market value. Market value is generally determined on the basis of official closing prices, last reported sales prices, or if no sales or closing prices are reported, on the basis of quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers, or independent pricing services. Investments in mutual funds are valued at the net asset value (“NAV”) as reported on each business day.

Portfolio securities and other financial instruments for which market quotations are not readily available, or for which a development/event occurs that may significantly impact the value of a security, are fair-valued, in good faith, pursuant to procedures established by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of The Korea Fund Inc. (the “Fund”), or persons acting at their discretion pursuant to procedures established by the Board. The Fund’s investments are valued daily and the Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on each day the NYSE is open for business using prices supplied by an independent pricing service or broker/dealer quotations, or by using the last sale or settlement price on the exchange that is the primary market for such securities, or the mean between the last bid and ask quotations. In unusual circumstances, the Board may determine the NAV as of 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, notwithstanding an earlier, unscheduled close or halt of trading on the NYSE. For foreign equity securities (with certain exceptions, if any), the Fund fair values its securities daily using modeling tools provided by a statistical research service. This service utilizes statistics and programs based on historical performance of markets and other economic data (which may include changes in the value of U.S. securities or security indices).

Short-term debt instruments maturing in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, if their original term to maturity was 60 days or less, or by amortizing premium or discount based on their value on the 61st day prior to maturity, if the original term to maturity exceeded 60 days.

Investments initially valued in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted to the U.S. dollar using exchange rates obtained from pricing services. As a result, the NAV of the Fund’s shares may be affected by changes in the value of currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar. The value of securities traded in markets outside the United States or denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar may be affected significantly on a day that the NYSE is closed. The prices used by the Fund to value securities may differ from the value that would be realized if the securities were sold and these differences could be material.

 

(a)

144A—Exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, typically only to qualified institutional buyers. Securities with an aggregate value of $4,561,942, representing 2.0% of net assets.

 

(b)

Securities with an aggregate value of $212,072,860, representing 94.7% of net assets, were valued utilizing modeling tools provided by a third-party vendor.

 

(c)

Purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(d)

A portion of securities on loan with an aggregate value of $10,150,641; cash collateral (included in liabilities) of $10,663,305 was received with which the Fund invested in the BlackRock T-Fund Institutional Class.

 

(e)

Non-income producing.

 

(f)

At September 30, 2018, the cost basis of portfolio securities for federal income tax purposes was $167,190,575 Gross unrealized appreciation was $70,517,327; gross unrealized depreciation was $9,345,941; and net unrealized appreciation was $61,171,386. The difference between book and tax cost was attributable to wash sale loss deferrals.


Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e., the “exit price”) in an orderly transaction between market participants. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

 

   

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical investments that the Fund has the ability to access

 

   

Level 2 – valuations based on other significant observable inputs, which may include, but are not limited to, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates or other market corroborated inputs

 

   

Level 3 – valuations based on significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s investment manager’s or Fund’s Valuation Committee’s own assumptions and securities whose price was determined by using a single broker’s quote)

The valuation techniques used by the Fund to measure fair value during the three months ended September 30, 2018 were intended to maximize the use of observable inputs and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs.

The Fund policy is to recognize transfers between levels at the end of the reporting period. An investment asset’s or liability’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level input, individually or in aggregate, that is significant to the fair value measurement. The objective of fair value measurement remains the same even when there is a significant decrease in the volume and level of activity for an asset or liability and regardless of the valuation techniques used. Investments categorized as Level 1 or 2 as of period end may have been transferred between Levels 1 and 2 since the prior period due to changes in the valuation method utilized in valuing the investments.

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The following are certain inputs and techniques that the Fund generally uses to evaluate how to classify each major category of assets and liabilities within Level 2 and Level 3, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Equity Securities (Common Stock) — Equity securities traded in inactive markets and certain foreign equity securities are valued using inputs which include broker-dealer quotes, recently executed transactions adjusted for changes in the benchmark index, or evaluated price quotes received from independent pricing services that take into account the integrity of the market sector and issuer, the individual characteristics of the security, and information received from broker-dealers and other market sources pertaining to the issuer or security. To the extent that these inputs are observable, the values of equity securities are categorized as Level 2. To the extent that these inputs are unobservable, the values are categorized as Level 3.

A summary of the inputs used at September 30, 2018 in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities is listed below (refer to the Schedule of Investments for more detailed information on Investments in Securities):

 

    Level 1 -
Quoted Prices
    Level 2 -
Other Significant
Observable
Inputs
    Level 3 -
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
    Value at
9/30/18
 

Investments in Securities—Assets

       

Common Stock:

       

Auto Components

  $ 1,181,469       —         —       $ 1,181,469  

Insurance

    4,444,327     $ 9,321,920       —         13,766,247  

All Other

    —         202,750,940       —         202,750,940  

Collateral Invested for Securities on Loan

    10,663,305       —         —         10,663,305  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Totals

  $ 16,289,101     $ 212,072,860       —       $ 228,361,961  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At September 30, 2018, securities valued at $1,181,469 were transferred from Level 2 to Level 1. This transfer was the result of securities trading outside the U.S. whose values were adjusted by the application of a modeling tool at June 30, 2018, which was not applied on September 30, 2018.

Securities Lending Transactions Accounted for as Secured Borrowings:

 

     Remaining Contractual Maturity of the Agreements
As of September 30, 2018
 
     Overnight and
Continuous
     Up to 30 days      30 - 90 days      Greater than
90 days
     Total  

Securities Lending Transactions

              

Common Stock

   $ 10,663,305        —          —          —        $ 10,663,305  
              

 

 

 

Gross amount of recognized liabilities for securities lending transactions

               $ 10,663,305  
              

 

 

 


Item 2.

Controls and Procedures

(a) The registrant’s President & Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer, Principal Financial & Accounting Officer have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))), are effective based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this document.

(b) There were no significant changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d))) that occurred during the registrant’s last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 3.

Exhibits

Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act are filed and attached hereto as Exhibit 99_CERT:


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Registrant: The Korea Fund, Inc.
By:  

/s/ Joseph Quirk

  Joseph Quirk
  President & Chief Executive Officer

Date: November 20, 2018

 

By:  

/s/ Orhan Dzemaili

 

Orhan Dzemaili

  Treasurer, Principal Financial & Accounting Officer

Date: November 20, 2018

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

By:  

/s/ Joseph Quirk

  Joseph Quirk
  President & Chief Executive Officer
Date: November 20, 2018
By:  

/s/ Orhan Dzemaili

  Orhan Dzemaili
  Treasurer, Principal Financial & Accounting Officer

Date: November 20, 2018