Group Stocks Surge with Record High Performance...16.8% Stake Increase Since New Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Jo Jeong-ho, chairman of Meritz Financial Group, has joined the ranks of stock billionaires with assets exceeding 5 trillion won for the first time.
According to financial information firm FnGuide on the 13th, the valuation of Chairman Jo's stock holdings increased by 721.5 billion won (16.8%) from 4.2885 trillion won at the end of December last year to 5.0101 trillion won as of the 12th of this month. In the ranking of stock billionaires, he rose to 6th place for the first time, following Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics (14.2579 trillion won), Hong Ra-hee, former director of Samsung Museum Leeum (11.0416 trillion won), Lee Boo-jin, President of Hotel Shilla (7.1417 trillion won), Lee Seo-hyun, Chairwoman of Samsung Welfare Foundation (6.44 trillion won), and Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao's Board (5.7469 trillion won). Since the beginning of the new year, he has climbed two spots by surpassing Chung Mong-koo, Honorary Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group (4.8915 trillion won), and Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE (3.906 trillion won). This rapid growth was achieved just over four months after first entering the top 10 stock billionaires and surpassing 3 trillion won in stock value last September.
The sharp increase in Chairman Jo's stock value is attributed to Meritz Group's stock price rising to record highs, driven by a continued record-breaking performance, benefits from the ongoing trend of rising interest rates favoring financial stocks, and efforts to enhance shareholder value. On the previous day, Meritz Securities (6,100 won), Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance (46,250 won), and Meritz Financial Group (52,300 won) all hit new 52-week highs.
In the securities industry, the stock price surge is particularly attributed to proactive shareholder value enhancement efforts through aggressive share buyback policies. Although the three Meritz companies experienced a sharp decline shortly after announcing in May last year that they would cut their dividend payout ratio by up to half, the stock price has continued to strengthen as they steadily implemented shareholder value enhancement measures such as share repurchases and cancellations.
On the other hand, the acceleration of tightening in global financial markets has hindered the fortunes of prominent domestic growth stock billionaires. For example, Chairman Kim Beom-su's stock valuation dropped sharply by 13.6% (904.6 billion won) since the start of the new year. Similarly, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's stake valuation in HYBE decreased significantly by 14.9% (683.9 billion won). Their stock rankings each fell by one spot, placing them 5th and 8th respectively.
There is also a possibility that Chairman Jo's stock value will soon surpass Chairman Kim's. The valuation gap between the two narrowed from 2.363 trillion won at the end of last year to 736.9 billion won currently. While the three Meritz financial companies are expected to maintain stable profit growth this year, Kakao began to fall short of market expectations in its fourth-quarter results last year, and future prospects are dim due to the government's regulatory stance on online platforms. Samsung Securities analyst Oh Dong-hwan said, "The government's focus on regulating online platforms, which was concentrated on Kakao last year, is expected to continue this year. It will be difficult for investment sentiment to recover at least until the presidential election, and the possibility of significant profit growth before regulatory issues shift is considered low."
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