Samsung and SK Hynix lead the rise in Korean NPS local stocks in the second quarter

The rise in shares of Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. in the second quarter led to an increase in the value of domestic stocks of South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), while battery and technology stocks in the pension fund’s portfolio declined.

The world’s third-largest pension fund holds stakes of 5 percent or more each in 283 listed companies in Korea, with the value of its holdings at 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 the share value increased by 2.5% and 6.3% respectively since the last quarterly release on March 29.

The rise of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chip makers, accounted for 55.8 percent of the 9.3 trillion won increase in value in the second quarter.

Samsung Electronics shares rose 6.07%, adding 2.3 trillion won in value during the April-June period. SK Hynix rose 27.60% in the same quarter, adding 2.9 trillion won.

NPS did not change its ownership 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 value increase of its holdings, adding 831.5 billion won to NPS’s local stock portfolio in the second quarter. It was followed by KB Financial Group and Hyundai Motor’s sister company Kia Corp., with gains of 577.7 billion won and 403.8 billion won, respectively, in the same period.

NPS’s holdings in Hyundai Motor and Kia increased by 0.08 and 0.04 percentage points, respectively, in the second quarter. The pension fund’s holding in KB Financial remained unchanged.

BATTERY AND INTERNET SHARE DECLINING

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

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

The value of shares of Samsung SDI Co., the world’s sixth-largest maker of electric vehicle batteries, and battery cell materials maker LG Chem Ltd. fell 485.3 billion won and 407.8 billion won, respectively. The share value of POSCO Holdings Inc., which owns cathode and anode materials maker POSCO Future M Co., fell 252.5 billion won.

The value of shares of technology conglomerate Kakao Corp. and online portal giant Naver Corp. fell by 272.1 billion won and 225.9 billion won, respectively, in the second quarter.

NPS maintained its ownership percentages in LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, LG Chem, POSCO Holdings and Naver. The pension fund increased its holdings in Kakao by 0.02 percentage points in the second quarter.

NPS increased its holdings in 19 listed companies to 5% or more in the second quarter. The companies include ship maintenance service provider HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co., skin care product maker APR Co. and cosmetics company Tonymoly Co.

The pension fund reduced its holdings in 12 companies to below 5 percent. These include online shopping platform operator Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp., bakery giant SPC Samlip Corp. and container shipping company HMM Co.

Write to Tae-Ung ​​Bae at [email protected]
Jihyun Kim edited this article.