Korean Firms Gain in Market Capitalization

Korea's top 10 big businesses posted a 31.4 percent gain in combined market capitalization this year, benefiting from the stock market rally.

According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) Monday, the combined market capitalization of the top 10 conglomerates by assets amounted to $263.5 billion..

The biggest gainer in market capitalization was Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group, which has two listed affiliates. HHI Group saw the combined market value of its two publicly traded affiliates rise 122 percent in the past 10 months.

HHI Group was trailed by Hanwha Group, which saw the market cap of its five listed affiliates growing by 56 percent in the cited period, and Hyundai Automotive Group. The market cap of auto giant’s eight listed affiliates climbed 53 percent.

Samsung Group, which has 14 large-cap affiliates such as Samsung Electronics under its wing, maintained a steadfast lead in market capitalization but the growth rate of its market cap remained humdrum at 32.67 percent. Samsung ranked fourth in terms of market cap growth rate.