Goldman Raises Asia ex-Japan Target to 1,120 on Korea and Taiwan Earnings

Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month target for the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index to 1,120 from 1,080, citing stronger expected earnings led by South Korea and Taiwan. The target implies 26% upside and puts AI-related technology hardware at the center of the bank’s regional equity outlook.

Goldman also set a 12-month target of 12,000 for South Korea’s Kospi, or about 79% upside from current levels. It had assigned the benchmark a 9,000 target in May, showing how sharply the firm’s Korea view has risen in four months.

The earnings case is uneven

The regional upgrade is not a blanket call on Asian equities. Goldman said second-quarter earnings for the index grew 102%; 44% of companies beat expectations and 27% missed. Earnings growth was led by Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia, while Australia, Malaysia and India lagged. Goldman nevertheless singled out Korea and Taiwan as the expected-earnings leaders behind the higher index target.

Memory demand is the underlying bet

Goldman’s May Korea outlook described a semiconductor memory supercycle as a core driver. It tied that view to memory-chip shortages, spending by hyperscale cloud operators and AI computing demand, and forecast 300% Korean earnings growth for 2026. The earlier publication also said Korea was its highest-conviction regional equity market.

Where the firm is placing its regional exposure

• Goldman favors North Asia and AI-related technology hardware, alongside energy security, defense and shareholder returns.
• Its favored sectors are technology hardware and semiconductors, capital goods, healthcare, and banks outside Australia and China.
• Goldman rates Korea and Taiwan overweight, while Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and China’s offshore market are market weight.

The higher forecast comes with clear pressures

Goldman cited Middle East tensions, higher bond yields, near-term volatility and the coming U.S. midterm elections as risks, though it still described the backdrop as more supportive. Its asset-management arm has also said selected Korean and Taiwanese companies in the AI buildout had order books at capacity through 2026. That makes continued AI infrastructure and memory demand the central test of this more ambitious market call.