Led by Top 4
The market capitalization of companies listed on the South Korean stock market increased by more than 300 trillion won (US$266.15 billion) this year. However, over 60 percent of them were taken up by the listed units of the nation’s top four business groups.
According to Chaebol.com on October 16, the total market cap of 2,168 companies listed in the Korea Stock Exchange stood at 1,842.9 trillion won (US$1.64 trillion) as of the 13th, up 300.6 trillion won (US$266.77 billion), or 19.5 percent, from 1,542.3 trillion won (US$1.37 trillion) at the beginning of the year.
Out of the 300.6 trillion won (US$266.77 billion), the listed units of the top four conglomerates, including Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor and LG, saw their market cap rise 180.6 trillion won (US$160.26 billion), accounting for 60.1 percent of the total growth. The share of the four in the stock market also grew 2.4 percent points to 47.42 percent from 45.02 percent earlier this year.
By group, the listed units of Samsung Group showed the biggest increase in the market cap. The market cap of 16 listed companies from Samsung Group recorded at 542 trillion won (US$480.79 billion), up 119 trillion won (US$105.6 billion), or 28.1 percent, from 423 trillion won (US$375.37 billion) earlier this year. The market cap of Samsung Electronics, which continues to post its record profit driven by the semiconductor boom, increased 81.4 trillion won (US$72.23 billion), or 26.3 percent, to 390.5 trillion won (US$346.53 billion from 309.1 trillion won (US$274.29 billion) at the beginning of the year, reaching nearly 400 trillion won (US$354.96 billion).
Samsung Group took up 29.39 percent of the total stock market, up 1.95 percent points from 27.44 percent in January this year.
he market cap of 17 listed units of SK Group, which ranked second in terms of market cap, beating Hyundai Motor Group with SK Hynix’s good business showings, grew 39.1 trillion won (US$34.7 billion), or 40.5 percent, to 135.4 trillion won (US$120.16 billion) from 96.4 trillion won (US$85.55 billion) earlier this year. SK Group showed the highest increase in market cap among the top four business groups.
In particular, the market cap of SK Hynix showed a whopping 24.3 trillion won (US$21.57 billion) growth, or 63.1 percent, this year alone from 38.4 trillion won (US$34.07 billion) to 62.7 trillion won (US$55.63 billion). The share of SK Group in the stock market rose 1.07 percent points from 6.26 percent to 7.33 percent over the same period.
On the other hand, the combined market cap of 11 listed divisions of Hyundai Motor Group, showing a drop of one spot, increased as low as 1.7 trillion won (US$1.51 billion), or 1.7 percent, from 97.7 trillion won (US$86.71 billion) to 99.4 trillion won (US$88.22 billion) during the same period. Hyundai Motor Group took up 5.39 percent of the total stock market on the 13th, down 0.93 percent points from 6.32 percent in January.
The market cap of 11 listed companies from LG Group surged 20.9 trillion won (US$18.55 billion), or 27.2 percent, from 77.1 trillion won (US$68.43 billion) to 98 trillion won (US$86.98 billion), narrowing the gap with Hyundai Motor Group, which took third spot, to 1.4 trillion won (US$1.24 billion). The share of LG Group in the stock market stood at 5.31 percent, up 0.31 percent point from 5 percent at the beginning of the year.