Samsung, SK Hynix lead value increase in Korea NPS' local shares in Q2

The second-quarter rally of Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. shares drove a value increase in the domestic stock asset held by South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), while battery and tech stocks in the pension fund’s portfolio declined.

The world’s third-largest pension fund holds a 5% stake or more in each of 283 listed companies in Korea, with the total holding value reaching 155.9 trillion won ($112.6 billion) as of July 8, Seoul-based financial data firm FnGuide Inc. said on Wednesday.

The number of companies and their holding value increased by 2.5% and 6.3%, respectively, from its previous quarterly disclosure on March 29.

The rise in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, made up 55.8% of the holding value increase of 9.3 trillion won for the second quarter.

Samsung Electronics' share price climbed 6.07% and added 2.3 trillion won to the holding value over the April-June period. SK Hynix surged 27.60%, bringing 2.9 trillion won to the value over the same quarter.

The NPS didn’t change its ownership ratio of the two companies in the second quarter: 7.68% in Samsung Electronics and 7.90% in SK Hynix.

Automaker Hyundai Motor Co. ranked third in the NPS' holding value increase, adding 831.5 billion won to its local stock portfolio for the second quarter. KB Financial Group and Hyundai Motor’s sister company Kia Corp. followed, with increases of 577.7 billion won and 403.8 billion won, respectively, over the same period.

The NPS’ holdings in Hyundai Motor and Kia rose by 0.08 percentage point and 0.04 percentage point, respectively, in the second quarter. The pension scheme’s holding in KB Financial didn’t change.

SHARE OF BATTERY, INTERNET DOWN

The holding value of battery and internet stocks declined in the second quarter.

The value of the NPS’ holding in LG Energy Solution Ltd., the world’s third-largest battery maker, dropped 493.9 billion won over the April-June period.

The holding value of Samsung SDI Co., the global No. 6 EV battery producer, and battery cell materials manufacturer LG Chem Ltd. declined by 485.3 billion won and 407.8 billion won, respectively. The stock value of POSCO Holdings Inc., which owns cathode and anode materials maker POSCO Future M Co., decreased by 252.5 billion won.

The holding value in tech conglomerate Kakao Corp. and online portal giant Naver Corp. shares declined 272.1 billion won and 225.9 billion won, respectively, in the second quarter.

The NPS maintained its holding percentages of LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, LG Chem, POSCO Holdings and Naver. The pension service boosted its holdings of Kakao by 0.02 point percentage in the second quarter.

The NPS increased its holdings in 19 listed companies to 5% or more in the second quarter. Among the firms are vessel maintenance service provider HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co., skincare products maker APR Co. and cosmetics firm Tonymoly Co.

The pension scheme cut its holdings in 12 firms to below 5%. They include online shopping platform operator Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp., bakery giant SPC Samlip Corp. and container shipping line HMM Co.

Write to Tae-Ung Bae at btu104@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.