SK ranks first in market capitalization increase among conglomerates

[Photo by MK DB]

SK Group saw the largest increase in market capitalization among South Korean listed companies during the first half of 2024.

According to an analysis by corporate research institute Leaders Index on Tuesday, the market capitalization of 366 listed companies affiliated with 80 conglomerate groups with listed companies totaled 1,937.76 trillion won as of the close of trading on July 5th, 2024, up 103.36 trillion won or 5.6 percent from the 1,834.39 trillion won figure recorded on January 2nd.

In terms of group market capitalization, Samsung Group topped the list with 721.53 trillion won, followed by SK Group with 247.21 trillion won, LG Group with 163.33 trillion won, Hyundai Motor Group with 160.19 trillion won, POSCO Group with 69.47 trillion won, and HD Hyundai Group with 53.02 trillion won.

SK Group saw the largest increase in market capitalization in the first half of the year. The market capitalization of its 21 listed companies grew by 65.49 trillion won, or 36 percent, in the first six months from 181.72 trillion won at the beginning of 2024.

The increase was largely driven by SK Hynix Inc., whose stock price rose sharply on the back of a recovery in the semiconductor market and favorable conditions for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

SK hynix’s market capitalization during this period increased by 68.14 trillion won, or 65.7 percent, from 103.67 trillion won to 171.81 trillion won, surpassing LG Group’s total market capitalization (around 163 trillion won) and Hyundai Motor Group (over 160 trillion won).

Samsung Group’s market capitalization increased by 56.24 trillion won, or 8.5 percent, from 665.28 trillion won at the beginning of the year, making it the second-largest increase in terms of amount. Samsung Electronics Co. led the growth, with a 44.7 trillion won, or 9.4 percent, increase in market capitalization from 475.19 trillion won to 519.97 trillion won.

Hyundai Motor Group‘s market capitalization grew by 29.15 trillion won, or 22.2 percent, from 131.04 trillion won at the beginning of the year, the third-largest increase. This growth was driven by strong car sales, with major affiliates such as Hyundai Motor Co. (up 16.43 trillion won), Kia Corp. (up 11.26 trillion won), and Hyundai Glovis Co. (up 2.19 trillion won) showing increased market capitalizations.

In terms of growth rate, HD Hyundai Group ranked first with a 56.8 percent increase. The market capitalization of its listed companies rose from 33.82 trillion won at the beginning of the year to 53.02 trillion won, an increase of 19.2 trillion won.

HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co.’s listing in May brought the number of the group’s listed companies to nine, and the market capitalization of HD Hyundai Electric Co., which emerged as an artificial intelligence (AI) power-related stock, also increased.

On the other hand, LG Group saw its market capitalization down 23.04 trillion won, POSCO Group 21.6 trillion won, EcoPro Group 20.16 trillion won, Kakao Group 14.78 trillion won, and Naver Group 9.65 trillion won in the first half of 2024.