The number of listed companies that have disclosed corporate value-up plans rose to 747 as of the end of last month, accounting for more than 84% of the total market capitalization of Korea's stock markets. Advance disclosure filings have also increased, indicating that participation in value-up disclosures is gradually expanding.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 6th, a total of 747 listed companies had disclosed corporate value-up plans by the end of July this year, comprising 348 companies on the KOSPI and 399 on the KOSDAQ. The figure excludes companies delisted due to mergers and other reasons. Last month, six companies newly participated in disclosures, including Korea Asset Investment Securities, MDevice, TS Investment, NanoCMS, Joil Aluminium and Chai Communication.
The market capitalization of the disclosing companies stood at approximately 4,945 trillion won, accounting for 84.6% of the total market. On the KOSPI, the market cap share of disclosing companies reached 88.4%, while on the KOSDAQ it was 32.6%.
The number of companies signaling future participation in disclosures is also rising. Advance disclosures, which had numbered one to three per month, increased to seven last month. Periodic disclosures, which reflect implementation status and performance following an initial disclosure, expanded to a cumulative 117 companies as three were added last month.
Shareholder return policies also continued actively. Last month, share buybacks and cancellations were decided mainly by financial holding companies, including Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group, Hana Financial Group and Woori Financial Group. Naver and Mirae Asset Securities also announced plans to cancel their treasury shares. Cash dividends were also expanded. A total of 90 companies, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, comprising 58 on the KOSPI and 32 on the KOSDAQ, decided on cash dividends totaling approximately 7.4 trillion won.
Value-up-related indicators also continued their strength. The Korea Value-Up Index closed at 3,162.13 at the end of last month, up 75.9% from the end of last year. Over the same period, it outpaced both the KOSPI's gain (56.5%) and the KOSPI 200's gain (72.7%). The total net asset value of 13 value-up exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also reached 3.4 trillion won, roughly six times larger than at their initial launch.
The Korea Exchange will hold corporate briefing sessions in six regions across the country in September this year, targeting companies with high dividends, low price-to-book ratios (PBR) and special listings. It plans to provide guidance on preparing corporate value-up plans and consulting to support disclosures.
