An digital buying and selling board at Hana Financial institution headquarters in central Seoul reveals the benchmark KOSPI gaining 0.84 p.c to succeed in an all-time closing excessive of 4,624.79 factors, Monday. The index prolonged its successful streak to a seventh consecutive session, surpassing the 4,600-point mark at closing for the primary time in historical past. Yonhap
The highest 10 conglomerates listed on the KOSPI are experiencing rising polarization in market capitalization, reflecting a broader development of widening disparities now spreading amongst peer enterprise teams, in line with market watchers Monday.
This polarization corresponds with international enterprise developments, with second-ranked SK Group, pushed by international chip demand, and seventh-placed Hanwha Group, supported by U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, standing out among the many high 10 as every surged towards 200 p.c over the previous yr.
In distinction, share value progress was lower than 10 p.c for fourth-largest LG Group and 20 p.c for sixth-ranked POSCO, as a slowdown in secondary batteries and metal held again efficiency in every core enterprise.
“The widening hole amongst top-tier corporations means that polarization is now not restricted to typical divides between the wealthy and the poor or between conglomerates and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” Jung Eui-jung, head of the Korean Stockholders’ Alliance, stated.
“A bullish KOSPI doesn’t assure returns and due to this fact buyers ought to rigorously observe conglomerates’ companies within the context of world developments.”
Jung pointed to the benchmark KOSPI gaining almost 82 p.c over the previous yr by means of final Friday, closing at 4,586.32 factors and fueling optimism for surpassing an unprecedented 5,000 factors this yr.
He additionally identified that the mixed market capitalization of SK Group’s associates surged 190.6 p.c to about 445 trillion received ($303.05 billion) over the identical interval.
The expansion was led by chipmaker SK hynix, with a market cap rising 263 p.c to roughly 514 trillion received, and likewise by SK Sq., which has its stakes tied to SK hynix, leaping 349.9 p.c.
As for Hanwha Group, its market capitalization grew 188.3 p.c, pushed by its protection affiliate Hanwha Aerospace which soared 250.3 p.c, and its shipbuilding arm Hanwha Ocean which rose 200.3 p.c, amid the U.S.-China tensions and America’s push to revive its naval shipbuilding trade in cooperation with Korea.
Whereas it lagged behind SK Group and Hanwha Group, top-ranked Samsung Group additionally stood out, rising 110.7 p.c to turn into the nation’s first conglomerate with a market capitalization exceeding 1,000 trillion received.
The surge was pushed by Samsung Electronics, which rode the worldwide semiconductor supercycle, climbing 145.7 p.c to succeed in a market capitalization of greater than 822 trillion received.
One other shipbuilding-focused conglomerate, eighth-ranked HD Hyundai, noticed its market capitalization rise 109.3 p.c.
The nation’s third-largest conglomerate, Hyundai Motor Group, posted a average 71 p.c improve in market capitalization.
LG Group was the lowest-performing among the many high 10 conglomerates, with its market capitalization ticking up simply 7.8 p.c, as sluggish demand in electrical automobile batteries led LG Power Resolution to realize just one.3 p.c. One other key affiliate, LG Electronics, rose simply 3.4 p.c.
Fifth-ranked Lotte Group was additionally constrained by its heavy reliance on home demand-sensitive sectors, with its market capitalization rising solely 14 p.c.
POSCO Group improved by simply 19.4 p.c, weighed down by slower metal demand.
