Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
NPS lowers stakes in POSCO Holdings, Kakao
National Pension Service Investment Management headquarters in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of NPS
By Anna J. Park
State pension fund holds W133 tril. worth of stocks in 283 firms accounting for over 5% share
The National Pension Service (NPS), Korea's largest institutional investor, has reduced its stakes in POSCO Holdings and Kakao, while increasing shareholdings in Samsung Electro-Mechanics during the last quarter of 2023.
According to data compiled by financial information service provider FnGuide on Monday, the NPS held a 6.71 percent stake in POSCO Holdings in the fourth quarter of last year, down 1.01 percentage points from the third quarter. The decline in its stake resulted in a more than 15 percent reduction in the stock price of POSCO Holdings.
During the same period, the NPS also reduced its stake in Kakao, one of the major tech firms of Korea, to 5.41 percent at the end of last year, from 6.38 percent in the previous quarter. However, Kakao's share price surged around 35 percent during that period, contributing to a net increase in the NPS' total asset value despite the sell-off.
While reducing its stakes in the two companies, the NPS increased its stake in Samsung Electro-Mechanics to 10.62 percent by the end of last year, from 8.8 percent in the third quarter. As the share price of the Samsung affiliate rose by 7.5 percent during the period, the value of the NPS' stake increased by 269.4 billion won ($200.5 million) to 1.17 trillion won.
The NPS also increased its holdings in several sectors, including cosmetics, shopping and biopharmaceutical companies. The companies that saw an increase in NPS holdings by 2 to 3 percentage points include Shinsegae International, Lotte Shopping, Clio, C&C International, HK inno.N and Hanall Biopharma.
The state pension fund also expanded its portfolio by incorporating 11 companies from a diverse range of industries, including SK Oceanplant, Wooshin Systems, Hanwha Ocean, Lotte Wellfood and Hitejinro, holding a stake of 5 percent or more in each.
There are 283 listed companies on the Korean stock market in which the NPS owns a stake of 5 percent or more as of Jan. 10. The entire valuation of the stakes in the 283 firms stood at 133.8 trillion won.
Compared to the end of the third quarter of last year, the number of firms in which the NPS holds stakes of 5 percent or more increased slightly, but the value of those stocks increased by 4.1 trillion won or 3.21 percent. This growth was attributed primarily to favorable stock market conditions, propelled by declining global interest rate momentum that took shape late last year.