The market value of South Korea’s top 10 business groups plunged this year, mostly on account of increased overseas volatility, data showed Tuesday.
The combined market capitalization of the listed affiliates of these firms stood at 721.99 trillion won ($602.6 billion) as of Monday, down nearly 5 percent from the end of 2015, according to the Korea Exchange.

The decline compares to the 3.5 percent drop in market capitalization for the stock market as a whole.

Analysts said a slowdown in the Chinese economy and the latest move from the U.S. Federal Reserve to tighten key interest rates were some of the main reasons behind the contraction, along with cheap crude oil prices.

These factors can have a big impact on South Korean firms, which mainly depend on exports for revenue.

At the same time, those catering to domestic consumers or focused on cultural content such as CJ and Lotte, did better.

Samsung, the country’s largest conglomerate, posted a 6.3 percent drop in equities value. Figures for tech giant LG, and mobile service provider SK fell 5.43 percent and 5.28 percent, respectively.

Hanwha’s stocks were worth more than 9.26 percent less from last year, while shares of Hyundai Motor Group, the country’s No. 1 carmaker, were down 4.37 percent. Cosmetic manufacturer Amore Pacific Corp. and steelmaker POSCO reported a 3.53 percent and 1.23 percent drop in value in the first 25 days of this year.

In contrast, CJ stocks climbed 8.11 percent to 28.42 trillion won, while Lotte edged up 1.22 percent to just over 25 trillion won. Share prices of Korea Electric Power Corp., South Korea’s state-controlled electric utility company, advanced 1.64 percent to 38.04 trillion won.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)