Latest news with #KoreaDiscount
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
KB Financial joins South Korea's top five in market cap
SEOUL, May 29 (UPI) -- South Korea's stock market has been ruled by traditional manufacturing companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Hyundai Motor. However, KB Financial Group has broken into the top five firms by market capitalization this month, nudging past the country's largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace. The financial group's market capitalization climbed to $28.91 billion Monday to overtake Hanwha Aerospace, with $28.63 billion, and Hyundai Motor, with $27.69 billion. Although Hanwha Aerospace reclaimed the No. 5 spot Tuesday, KB rebounded Wednesday. This marks the first time in roughly 15 years that KB Financial has become one of the five most valuable corporations in the Seoul bourse. "Most of all, KB Financial's profitability is outstanding, which has supported its share price since 2024," Hana Securities analyst Choi Jeong-wook told UPI. "Its diversified portfolio is also attractive. Many of its subsidiaries are leaders in their respective businesses. Its non-banking units accounted for some 40% of the total profits last year," he said. KB Financial netted $3.6 billion in profit last year, becoming South Korea's first financial company to reach the milestone. During the first quarter of this year, its bottom line amounted to $1.18 billion, up 62.9% from a year earlier. In the beginning of 2023, KB Financial trailed far behind Hyundai Motor, ranking 18th with a market capitalization of $15.88 billion against the latter's $31.32 billion. Since then, however, KB Financial's share price has nearly doubled to beat Hyundai Motor, which lost more than 10% during the span. The group's flagship unit is KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea's largest lender. Also under its umbrella are KB Kookmin Card, KB Securities, KB Insurance and KB Life Insurance. "Investor sentiment has been buoyed by KB Financial's embrace of the value-up program designed to boost the stock price," NH Investment & Securities analyst Jung Jun-seop said in a phone interview. In addition, the company recently disclosed s stock buyback plan -- a measure that "seems to win the hearts and minds of investors at home and abroad. The stabilizing foreign exchange rate also helps it," he added. The value-up program is the Korean government's initiative aimed at addressing the so-called "Korea Discount," which refers to the tendency of Korean stocks to trade at low valuations despite strong fundamentals. The Seoul administration has tried to encourage enterprises here to strengthen their corporate governance and improve capital allocation to deal with the Korea Discount. KB Financial was recently honored with the top prize in a government-held value-up award ceremony. Last month, the entity canceled 12 million shares, which were valued at $740 million. In his recent report, SK Securities analyst Seol Yong-jin said that KB Financial has enjoyed a premium, thanks to its status as a business bellwether. "KB Financial has demonstrated an advantage over its competitors in terms of foreign investor inflows," he wrote. As of Wednesday, foreign investors' net purchases of KB Financial stood at around $870 million for the month. Still, challenges remain, according to some observers. "Like its smaller competitors, KB Financial has failed to make its presence felt in the global market. The outfit mostly focuses on the domestic market," Seoul-based consultancy Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun said. "In addition, KB Financial depends too heavily on interest profits. The lowered key interest rate is feared to weigh on the group at least in the short term," he predicted. The Bank of Korea slashed its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% points to 2.5% Thursday. It was the central bank's fourth cut in seven months since last October. Globally, KB Financial is also recognized as a proactive sponsor of professional golfers, who play on the LPGA Tour. It backs Park In-bee, who topped the podium in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
5 days ago
- Automotive
- UPI
KB Financial joins South Korea's top five in market cap
KB Financial's share price nearly doubled since 2024, helping it become one of South Korea's five most valuable companies. Photo courtesy of KB Financial Group SEOUL, May 29 (UPI) -- South Korea's stock market has been ruled by traditional manufacturing companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Hyundai Motor. However, KB Financial Group has broken into the top five firms by market capitalization this month, nudging past the country's largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace. The financial group's market capitalization climbed to $28.91 billion Monday to overtake Hanwha Aerospace, with $28.63 billion, and Hyundai Motor, with $27.69 billion. Although Hanwha Aerospace reclaimed the No. 5 spot Tuesday, KB rebounded Wednesday. This marks the first time in roughly 15 years that KB Financial has become one of the five most valuable corporations in the Seoul bourse. "Most of all, KB Financial's profitability is outstanding, which has supported its share price since 2024," Hana Securities analyst Choi Jeong-wook told UPI. "Its diversified portfolio is also attractive. Many of its subsidiaries are leaders in their respective businesses. Its non-banking units accounted for some 40% of the total profits last year," he said. KB Financial netted $3.6 billion in profit last year, becoming South Korea's first financial company to reach the milestone. During the first quarter of this year, its bottom line amounted to $1.18 billion, up 62.9% from a year earlier. In the beginning of 2023, KB Financial trailed far behind Hyundai Motor, ranking 18th with a market capitalization of $15.88 billion against the latter's $31.32 billion. Since then, however, KB Financial's share price has nearly doubled to beat Hyundai Motor, which lost more than 10% during the span. The group's flagship unit is KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea's largest lender. Also under its umbrella are KB Kookmin Card, KB Securities, KB Insurance and KB Life Insurance. "Investor sentiment has been buoyed by KB Financial's embrace of the value-up program designed to boost the stock price," NH Investment & Securities analyst Jung Jun-seop said in a phone interview. In addition, the company recently disclosed s stock buyback plan -- a measure that "seems to win the hearts and minds of investors at home and abroad. The stabilizing foreign exchange rate also helps it," he added. The value-up program is the Korean government's initiative aimed at addressing the so-called "Korea Discount," which refers to the tendency of Korean stocks to trade at low valuations despite strong fundamentals. The Seoul administration has tried to encourage enterprises here to strengthen their corporate governance and improve capital allocation to deal with the Korea Discount. KB Financial was recently honored with the top prize in a government-held value-up award ceremony. Last month, the entity canceled 12 million shares, which were valued at $740 million. In his recent report, SK Securities analyst Seol Yong-jin said that KB Financial has enjoyed a premium, thanks to its status as a business bellwether. "KB Financial has demonstrated an advantage over its competitors in terms of foreign investor inflows," he wrote. As of Wednesday, foreign investors' net purchases of KB Financial stood at around $870 million for the month. Still, challenges remain, according to some observers. "Like its smaller competitors, KB Financial has failed to make its presence felt in the global market. The outfit mostly focuses on the domestic market," Seoul-based consultancy Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun said. "In addition, KB Financial depends too heavily on interest profits. The lowered key interest rate is feared to weigh on the group at least in the short term," he predicted. The Bank of Korea slashed its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% points to 2.5% Thursday. It was the central bank's fourth cut in seven months since last October. Globally, KB Financial is also recognized as a proactive sponsor of professional golfers, who play on the LPGA Tour. It backs Park In-bee, who topped the podium in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
CNA
21-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
High chance of S Korean stocks joining developed market index: regulator
SEOUL :The vice chief of South Korea's financial regulatory agency said on Monday there is a high likelihood of the country's stock market being included in a key developed market index in the near future. "We see a very high possibility of being included soon, if not this time," Kim So-young, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said at a press conference held in Seoul for foreign media. The stock market of Asia's fourth-largest economy is currently categorised as an emerging market by global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), despite many other metrics indicating its developed-economy status. Last month, South Korea lifted a full market-wide ban on short selling of stocks for the first time in five years, which had been cited by foreign investors and MSCI as a major factor hindering market access. "More than 90 per cent (of the issues raised by MSCI) have been resolved," Kim said. He added that Chairman Kim Byoung-hwan would discuss recent improvements with foreign investors and the index provider during his visit to the U.S. this week. MSCI is scheduled to review its market classifications in June. Typically, the index provider places a market on a watch-list for a year or two before any reclassification. The administration of former President Yoon Suk Yeol introduced various measures in recent years to improve market access for foreigners and address the so-called "Korea Discount", which refers to the tendency for domestic stocks to be undervalued. Regarding a recent revision to the Commercial Act aimed at resolving the "Korea Discount", which was passed by parliament but vetoed, Kim said it was more desirable to amend the Capital Markets Act to minimise side effects. Earlier on Monday, South Korea's leading presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, pledged to revive legislation to curb abuses by controlling shareholders as part of a plan to bolster the stock market. Kim said the authorities were also reviewing regulatory improvements concerning share issuance, following a series of controversial capital-raising plans, including that of Hanwha Aerospace, which faced investor criticism.
Korea Herald
21-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae-myung pledges to eliminate 'Korea discount,' achieve 5,000-point Kospi
Liberal presidential front-runner Rep. Lee Jae-myung pledged Monday to open an era of an eliminated "Korea discount," with the country's benchmark Kospi index surging twofold to pass 5,000 points after he is elected. Lee said Monday that his market reform push could put an end to the long-standing phenomenon of South Korean stock undervaluation due to weaknesses in corporate governance and opacity in market transparency -- known as the "Korea Discount" -- adding that enhancing minority shareholder protection, boosting transparency in the stock market and establishing a system for fair assessment of listed companies are prerequisites for his goal of attracting more capital to the stock market. Lee, who chaired the Democratic Party of Korea until he declared his presidential bid earlier this month, previously lost to Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 presidential election and is now jockeying for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. 'If we establish a fair and reasonable corporate governance mechanism and market order, our stock market will take a stunning leap forward,' Lee said on a Facebook post Monday. 'We will make the era of 'Kospi 5,000' come true with South Korea's resilience and growth,' he also said. Lee did not elaborate on the time frame for the Kospi's projected passing of the 5,000-point mark on Monday, as the Kospi -- whose combined market cap of 849 companies stands at over 2,000 trillion won ($1.4 trillion) -- stood at around 2,480 points as of 2 p.m. Monday. His campaign promise suggested the total valuation of all listed companies on the Korea Exchange's main board could double if he wins the presidential election in June and serves his term until 2030. Laying out the financial market-related election campaign pledge, Lee expressed regret over South Koreans' tendency of overallocation to real estate in their asset portfolio, saying the phenomenon is due to people's distrust in the stock market. "Boosting South Korea's stock market is the easiest way possible to increase people's assets in a considerable way," said the two-term lawmaker. Lee pledged zero tolerance against white-collar crimes such as stock manipulation or other unfair practices on the stock market. He also vowed to strengthen policies to confiscate criminal proceeds from such unfair practices, as well as a monitoring system to prevent stock manipulation. "South Korea's stock market has suffered deep-rooted distrust," Lee said, as there are prevailing thoughts that those who make money by manipulating stock prices will not be punished if they have power. During his meeting with stock analysts at the headquarters of the Korea Financial Investment Association later on Monday, Lee said he would work to pass the revision of the Commercial Act to mandate a corporate boardroom's fiduciary duty to act in accordance with the interest of all of its shareholders, including small shareholders, if elected president. The bill, sponsored by the Democratic Party, failed on Thursday to override a veto by acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Also during his meeting with stock analysts, Lee said South Korean stocks lacked in dividend payments to shareholders. He additionally raised a need to dissolve companies whose price-to-book ratio stands at below 1.0. The persisting undervaluation of South Korean stocks have been a headache for the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, as Seoul mapped out an initiative to launch a "Value-up Index" to boost market transparency that bore little fruit. Since the Korea Value-up Index initiative began in late September, the Kospi has fallen more than 4 percent in seven months.
Business Recorder
21-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
South Korean shares little changed with focus on tariff talks
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: South Korean shares set to snap 3-week decline on tariff negotiation hopes South Korean shares were little changed on Monday as investors awaited tariff talks with the US scheduled for later this week. The benchmark KOSPI was down 0.33 points, or 0.03%, at 2,482.65 as of 0451 GMT, after rising as much as 0.6% earlier in the session. South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo said he expected trade talks with the United States this week in Washington to be the start of meaningful cooperation, but added that negotiations may not be easy. South Korea's leading presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, pledged to revive legislation to curb abuses by controlling shareholders as part of a plan to boost the stock market and eliminate the so-called 'Korea Discount', a tendency of lower valuations compared with global peers. Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.18% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.97%, but battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.04%. Hyundai Motor added 0.05% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 0.80%, while search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 0.27% and down 0.51%, respectively. Of the total 934 traded issues, 419 shares advanced, while 462 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 272.9 billion won ($192.4 million). The won was quoted 0.38% higher at 1,418.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform. In the money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.05 points to 107.66.
