Samsung Group’s combined market capitalization has risen to 375.52 trillion won ($322 billion) following the stock market debut of its biotechnology unit, a local financial data provider said Sunday.

After Samsung BioLogics’ Kospi entrance on Thursday, Samsung’s 15 listed affiliates accounted for 29.07 percent of the total market cap of all the companies traded on Korea’s main stock exchange, WISEfn said.

The figure marks a 1.25 percentage point increase from the group’s 27.82 percent ownership recorded in late October before Samsung BioLogics went public, it added.


WISEfn attributed the sudden hike in Samsung Group’s market cap mainly to the addition of its contract drug manufacturing unit Samsung BioLogics as well as the improved share price of the group’s crown jewel Samsung Electronics.

So far, investors appear highly interested in Samsung BioLogics. Its shares, which opened at 135,000 won apiece, surged 6.67 percent on the first day of trading. They once again rose 12.15 percent on the second trading day to close at 161,500 won.

And it is the foreign investors who seem particularly interested. Over the two days, foreign investors purchased some 200 billion won worth of Samsung BioLogics shares, WISEfn said.

As of Nov. 11, Samsung BioLogics’ market value stood at 10.69 trillion won, ranking 25th among Korea’s Kospi-listed companies. The company ranked sixth among Samsung’s listed units.

While some analysts have welcomed Samsung’s dominant presence in bolstering investors’ trust in the local biotech sector, others have cautioned against over-relying on Samsung units to boost the Korean stock market.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)