Have Emerging Markets Become an AI Trade? | 21 Jul 2026 | UBS Trending

1. Executive Briefing (TL;DR)

• Top Key Takeaways:

  • North Asian Tech Primacy: Taiwan and Korea equity markets have surged 60% and 80% YTD in USD terms respectively, driven by 50-year-old semiconductor manufacturing ecosystems that are nearly impossible to replicate [01:30].
  • Extreme Index Concentration: Korea and Taiwan now comprise nearly 50% of total Emerging Markets (EM) market capitalization, with just three North Asian semiconductor companies weighing more in EM benchmark indices than India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE combined [].