Market Capitalization
The market capitalization of South Korea's 10 largest conglomerates has increased nearly 3 percent this year.
According to FnGuide, a financial information provider, on September 17, the aggregate market value of 88 stocks affiliated with the 10 largest business groups totaled 663.92 trillion won (US$589.89 billion) on closing prices on the 13th, up 2.96 percent, or 19.7 trillion won (US$16.94 billion), from 644.85 trillion won (US$572.95 billion) on December 30 in 2015, the final trading day of last year.
The Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which is the world's largest shipbuilder, marked the steepest rise in market cap of 49.04 percent, from 7.71 trillion won (US$6.85 billion) to 11.49 trillion won (US$10.22 billion). It was largely due to Hyundai Heavy Industries' recording of gains in the two consecutive quarters through swift restructuring, which in turn pushed up its share price from 87,800 won (US$78.01) to 132,500 won (US$117.73) over the cited period. Hyundai Heavy's share price shot to 145,000 won (US$128.83) during midday trading on September 6, marking a new high for 52 consecutive weeks.
The POSCO Group was the runner-up with a 31.46 percent increase in its market cap. The stock price of POSCO shares jumped almost 35 percent, from 166,500 won (US$147.93) to 224,000 won (US$199.02), leading the rise in the entire group's aggregate market value from 18.16 trillion won (US$16.14 billion) to 23.88 trillion won (US$21.22 billion). POSCO's share prices have recently shown strength, reflecting the expectations about rises in international steel prices as a result of the restructuring by Chinese steelmakers.
The SK Group and the Samsung Group ranked third and fourth, with market cap growth rates of 6.43 percent and 6.16 percent, respectively. Among SK subsidiaries, semiconductor maker SK Hynix and energy company SK Innovation were leading contributors recording increase rates of 22.93 percent and 16.54 percent, respectively. Among Samsung subsidiaries, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Card led the market cap increase by 16.56 percent and 72.77 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, the LG Group and the Lotte Group saw their market caps fall by double-digit rates of 10.41 percent and 10.25 percent since the beginning of this year.
LG Group's market capitalization dropped by 8.25 trillion won (US$7.33 billion) from 79.25 trillion won (US$70.41 billion) to 71 trillion won (US$63.08 billion), as share prices of its major affiliates performed poorly. The market caps of LG Innotec, LG Chemical and LG Electronics shrank by 20.81 percent, 27.70 percent and 7.06 percent, respectively. Lotte Group, which has been under a protracted investigation by the prosecution, also saw its market cap slide by 2.64 trillion won (US$2.35 billion) from 25.78 trillion won (US$22.9 billion) to 23.13 trillion won (US$20.55 billion). Lotte's food and beverage subsidiaries – Lotte Chilsung, Lotte Confectionary and Lotte Food – saw their market value plunge 31.84 percent, 28.97 percent and 31.40 percent, respectively, during the period.