Shares in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, dubbed a “semiconductor two-horse carriage”, surged in the fourth quarter of last year, and the National Pension Service’s valuation of its stocks jumped 35 percent from the previous quarter.

FnGuide, a financial data provider, said the stock valuation of listed companies subject to disclosure in which the NPS holds at least a 5 percent stake totalled 266.14 trillion won as of Jan. 7.

That was up 69.69 trillion won from 196.44 trillion won at the end of the third quarter of last year on Sept. 30, an increase of 35.48 percent.

The near 70 trillion won increase in a single quarter largely reflected sharp gains in large-cap semiconductor stocks.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix posted the biggest increases in fourth-quarter valuation, up 26.19 trillion won and 21.21 trillion won, respectively.

Together, they added 47.28 trillion won. Their combined share of the NPS’s overall increase in stock valuation in the fourth quarter of last year reached 67.85 percent.

Given that the NPS’s ownership ratios in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were unchanged from the end of the third quarter of last year to Jan. 7, the share-price rally appears to have driven the jump in stock valuation.

The NPS holds 7.75 percent of Samsung Electronics and 7.35 percent of SK Hynix.

Samsung Electronics, in particular, posted a share-price rise based on strong results. It recorded 20 trillion won in operating profit on a preliminary basis in the fourth quarter of last year, the first among South Korean companies, backed by a super boom in memory semiconductors.

Over the period, Samsung Electronics shares rose 63.95 percent and SK Hynix gained 106.11 percent.

Baek Gil-hyeon, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, forecast that “the global memory semiconductor market will see the price cycle continue as high-specification, high-capacity server demand persists, and as customer demand to secure inventories for consumer IT such as mobile and PCs is added after the first half of this year”.

Following the two semiconductor giants, the third to fifth biggest increases in stock valuation were SK Square at 2.96 trillion won, Hyundai Motor at 2.03 trillion won, and Samsung Epis Holdings at 1.16 trillion won.

Among them, Samsung Epis Holdings was listed on the KOSPI after a spinoff from Samsung Biologics on Nov. 24 last year. As a holding company, Samsung Epis Holdings runs businesses including managing stakes in subsidiaries such as Samsung Bioepis and Episnex Lab and pursuing new investment businesses.

By contrast, Hanwha Aerospace recorded the biggest drop in stock valuation at 395.9 billion won among companies in which the NPS maintained a stake of 5 percent or more as of Jan. 7. Its ownership ratio was 7.92 percent.

It was followed by Samyang Foods at 267.7 billion won, Naver at 234.2 billion won and Krafton at 205.9 billion won. Ownership ratios in those companies were unchanged at 9.58 percent, 9.33 percent and 7.18 percent, respectively.

The NPS newly disclosed in the fourth quarter of last year that it held 5 percent or more in 17 stocks, including Samsung Epis Holdings, POSCO Future M, Hanon Systems and ST Pharm.

A total of 23 stocks, including HD Hyundai Mipo, JYP Ent. and Hanil Cement, were excluded from disclosure after the NPS’s holdings fell below 5 percent.

[Yonhap News Agency]