Market Cap Turmoil... Late Shift in Rankings

KOSPI: Celltrion and Kakao Rankings Fall... KB Financial Returns to 10th Place
LG Energy Solution to Overtake SK Hynix Next Week, Rising to 2nd in Market Cap

KOSDAQ: Ecopro BM Tops Market Cap... Leading Stock Changes After 4 Years

[Asia Economy Reporters Song Hwajeong, Park Jihwan] A significant shift has begun in the market capitalization rankings. Stocks caught in adverse conditions have seen sharp declines in their share prices, causing a large reshuffle in the market cap rankings. After more than four years, the top spot in KOSDAQ market capitalization has changed, and next week, changes are expected in the 3rd and even 2nd positions of the KOSPI market cap rankings.

As of 9:21 AM on the 19th, Celltrion Healthcare rose 800 KRW (1.24%) from the previous day, reclaiming the KOSDAQ market cap No. 1 position with a market cap of 10.1389 trillion KRW. EcoPro BM, which had taken the No. 1 spot from Celltrion Healthcare the day before, fell 0.82% on the day, dropping its market cap below 10 trillion KRW and losing the top position. On the previous day, EcoPro BM had a market cap of 10.0456 trillion KRW, surpassing Celltrion Healthcare’s 10.0148 trillion KRW. This was the first time in 4 years and 11 months that Celltrion Healthcare lost the No. 1 spot in KOSDAQ market cap. Although Celltrion Healthcare regained the throne in just one day, the market cap gap between the two stocks is around 200 billion KRW, suggesting fierce competition for the top spot will continue for some time. Celltrion Healthcare had firmly held the No. 1 market cap position at an untouchable level, but amid last year’s sluggish stock performance, EcoPro BM, boosted by the strong secondary battery sector, rapidly closed the gap to a catchable range. Recently, the stock price plunged sharply again due to accounting fraud issues, ultimately allowing EcoPro BM to overtake it.

Meanwhile, semiconductor test equipment company Lino Industrial entered the top 10 market cap list for the first time. Since the 11th, while most of the top market cap stocks experienced continued price weakness until the previous day, Lino Industrial rose nearly 5%, reaching 191,300 KRW on the 19th. Its market cap reached 2.9159 trillion KRW, surpassing CJ ENM (2.9057 trillion KRW) and entering the top 10 KOSDAQ market cap rankings for the first time. Lino Industrial’s stock price rose 47% over the past year, reflecting sustained high growth in earnings. Its operating profit increased 21.9% from 64 billion KRW in 2019 to 78 billion KRW in 2020.

On the KOSPI, market cap changes occurred as Celltrion’s sluggishness and the sharp decline in Kakao group stocks, which were embroiled in ‘meoktwi’ (scam) controversies, impacted the rankings. KB Financial Group reclaimed its position as the leading financial stock in the new year and also recovered the 10th place in KOSPI market capitalization for the first time in three years since late 2018. Despite the overall sluggish KOSPI market recently, KB Financial recorded a clear upward trend in stock price, benefiting from strong earnings and rising interest rates. On the previous day, KB Financial closed at 61,700 KRW, up 0.82% from the previous trading day. It has risen 12.2% so far this year. KB Financial’s market cap reached 25.6553 trillion KRW, climbing five places from 15th at the end of last year. Its return to the top 10 market cap is the first in over three years since late 2018. Earlier, on the 11th, KB Financial also regained the ‘leading financial stock’ position it lost six months ago after KakaoBank’s IPO in August last year.

Further market cap upheavals are expected next week as LG Energy Solution, a record-breaking IPO, enters the KOSPI. Based on the public offering price of 300,000 KRW, LG Energy Solution’s market cap is about 70.2 trillion KRW, surpassing the current 3rd place NAVER’s approximately 55 trillion KRW. Its market cap is expected to exceed 100 trillion KRW after listing, making it possible to overtake SK Hynix (about 92 trillion KRW) and rise to 2nd place.

Lee Kyungsoo, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, said, “Last year, large-cap stocks such as SK Bioscience, SK IE Technology, KakaoBank, Krafton, and KakaoPay saw their closing prices on the listing day rise an average of 78% compared to their IPO prices. Assuming LG Energy Solution’s closing price on its listing day, the 27th, is at last year’s average level, it would be 534,000 KRW, corresponding to a market cap of about 125 trillion KRW.” Additionally, NH Investment & Securities projected LG Energy Solution’s appropriate market cap after listing at 101 trillion KRW, and Hyundai Motor Securities also forecasted that a 100 trillion KRW market cap is quite feasible.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.