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In this article, we will be taking a look at the 15 biggest Korean companies by market cap. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 biggest Korean companies by market cap.
Despite having the 27th largest population in the world, South Korea has the 10th largest economy in the world and the 4th largest economy in Asia. South Korea in an incredible success story of a country which rose from being an underdeveloped country to one with a highly developed economy within a few generations because of which it is now part of the G-20 and the Organization of Economically Developed Countries. Much of the success the country has achieved can be attributed to the education system in the country which has spurred a technological boom. Despite its incredible growth, South Korea is still considered to be among the fastest growing economies in the world and is expected to be among the key global economies by the middle of the 21st century. Another reason behind South Korea's economic strength is its focus on exporting, where it is the eight largest exporter in the world. Its economic resilience is the reason why it was among one of the few countries in the world to avoid a recession during the Great Recession and has continued to climb from strength to strength since.
However, this doesn't mean that the company is completely impervious to global issues as evidenced by the high inflation rate that the country has faced in 2022, in line with record levels of inflation faced by most countries across the world as fears of a global recession deepen. Despite high inflation, according to OECD, South Korea's economy is expected to increase by 2.7% in 2022 and 2.5% in 2023. While consumption is expected to increase, major improvement will be seen in 2023 due to strong investment and exports. Other issues facing the economy of South Korea where the employment rate is lower than the OECD average while the GDP per capita is 20% lower than the best OECD performers. In addition, there is higher income inequality as opposed to other advanced economies while carbon dioxide emissions are higher than the OECD average and are not anywhere near decreasing.
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South Korea is home to several of the biggest companies in the world. In fact, in the list of Forbes 2000, South Korea has the 4th highest number of companies at 66, ahead of major powerhouses such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain. Only the United States, China and Japan have more companies among the biggest 2,000 global companies. After isolating the 66 Korean companies from the Forbes Global 200 list, we then ranked them based on their market value. For market value, we checked Yahoo Finance for each company's market cap as of October 30, 2022. Where the market value is in the local currency, we have converted it to USD based on the latest exchange rates. So, without further ado, let's take a look at some of the biggest companies in Korea, many of which you will be familiar with, starting with number 15:
15. Woori Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:WF)
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 11.47
Total profits of the company (in millions): 2,200
Total assets of the company (in billions): 376.2
Total market value of the company as of 30th October 2022 (in billions): 6.2
Woori Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:WF) is a South Korean banking company. Formed in 2001 through the merger of four commercial banks and an investment bank, Woori Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:WF) employees over 13,000 people.
14. Hana Financial Group
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 13.75
Total profits of the company (in millions): 3,010
Total assets of the company (in billions): 422.7
Total market value of the company as of 29th October 2022 (in billions): 8.6
One of four financial holding companies in the list of the biggest Korean companies by market cap, Hana Financial Group has more than 15 subsidiaries and is active in 24 countries across multiple continents with a strong presence in Indonesia, Vietnam and China.
14. Samsung Life Insurance
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 25.44
Total profits of the company (in millions): 1,280
Total assets of the company (in billions): 287.1
Total market value of the company as of 30th October 2022 (in billions):
The largest insurance company in Korea, Samsung Life Insurance products include annuities, life insurance and health insurance. It had the biggest IPO in South Korean history and has over 6,000 employees.
12. LG Electronics
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 66.12
Total profits of the company (in millions): 900.9
Total assets of the company (in billions): 45
Total market value of the company as of 30th October 2022 (in billions): 10.8
One of the biggest electronics companies in the world, LG Electronics has four business divisions: mobile communications, home appliances, vehicle components and home entertainment. LG Electronics is the second-biggest television manufacturer in the world after Samsung Electronics.
11. KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB)
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 33.86
Total profits of the company (in millions): 3,790
Total assets of the company (in billions): 560.38
Total market value of the company as of 29th October 2022 (in billions): 13.1
A financial holding company, KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) provides banking and financial services and is considered to be a part of domestically systemically important banks. KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) was created through the restructuring of Kookmin Bank and acquired one of Korea's biggest life insurance companies in 2015. KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) has 13 subsidiaries.
10. SK Group
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 85.9
Total profits of the company (in millions): 1,720
Total assets of the company (in billions): 139.1
Total market value of the company as of 29th October 2022 (in billions): 12
SK Group is a South Korean conglomerate and is the second biggest conglomerate in Korea. SK Group consists of 186 subsidiaries and is involved in various industries including chemical, petroleum, energy, marketing, construction and high-speed Internet.
9. POSCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:PKX)
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 66.66
Total profits of the company (in millions): 5,770
Total assets of the company (in billions): 77
Total market value of the company as of 29th October 2022 (in billions): 13.2
POSCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:PKX) is a steel-making giant and considered to be among the biggest steel manufacturers in the world. POSCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:PKX) owns operates two steel mills within South Korea. While POSCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:PKX) operated a joint venture with U.S. Steel, the project was completely taken over by U.S. Steel in 2020.
8. Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SHG)
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 29.3
Total profits of the company (in millions): 3,570
Total assets of the company (in billions): 545.24
Total market value of the company as of 29th October 2022 (in billions): 13.2
Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SHG) is a financial holding company and considered to be among Korea's Big Five financial groups. The services provided by Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SHG) are life insurance, securities, investment banking and banking. Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SHG) owns 17 subsidiaries to manage its various business aspects.
7. Samsung C&T
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 30.1
Total profits of the company (in millions): 1,430
Total assets of the company (in billions): 46.5
Total market value of the company as of 29th October 2022 (in billions): 13.7
Samsung C&T is an engineering and construction company which was the first ever Samsung company having been incorporated in 1938. Employing over 17,000 employees, the company is focused on real estate, trade and investments and of course, construction.
6. Hyundai Mobis
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 36.42
Total profits of the company (in millions): 2,050
Total assets of the company (in billions): 43.3
Total market value of the company as of 29th October 2022 (in billions): 14.3
Hyundai Mobis is a car parts company and is the "parts and services" arm of major car manufacturers Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Genesis Motors. Kia Motors owns over 21% of the company.
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Disclosure: None. 15 biggest Korean companies by market cap is originally published at Insider Monkey.
