Korea’s NPS bets on more local semiconductor stocks in Q2

National Pension Service (NPS) of South Korea, the world’s third-largest pension fund with 975.6 trillion won ($754.2 billion) in assets under management, expanded its holdings in local semiconductor and chip equipment firms in the second quarter of this year.

The pension fund owns a 5% or greater stake each in 306 listed companies as of Monday, according to its disclosure on Korea Exchange (KRX). The shares are valued at 132.22 trillion won as of July 10, up 2.3% from the end of March.

Of the stocks that NPS increased to more than 5% ownership, a majority was in the semiconductor sector. TEMC Co., a gas producer for chip processing, topped NPS’ semiconductor shareholdings with 7.58%.

The institutional investor also increased its holdings in chip design firm LX Semicon Co. to 7.22%, chip test equipment maker ISC Co. shares to 6.15%, and semiconductor manufacturing machinery maker EO Technics Co. to 5.18% during the second quarter.   

NPS also raised its holdings in chip inspection systems developer Intekplus Co. to 5.08% and ownership in Hana Micron Inc., specializing in semiconductor packaging and testing, to 5.03%.

It also increased its stake in Hyosung Heavy Industries Corp., a global supplier of power plant equipment, by 4.18 percentage points to 11.21%. That increase is the largest the pension fund made during the April-June period.

Among other stocks that NPS increased ownership to 5% or more are battery materials maker Eco & Dream Co., auto parts producer Hwashin Co., diesel engine manufacturer HSD Engine, mobile devices supplier Intops Co., Hy-lock Corp., an instrument valve maker for power plants, and leading steel company Dongkuk Steel Co.

Under Korean law, an investor with a 5% or more stake in a firm must disclose the details of its shareholdings on KRX.

The pension giant also bought more stocks in original manufacturers of cosmetics items. It increased its holdings in skincare products maker Kolmar Korea from 9.55% to 11.64%; shares in Cosmecca Korea Co. from 4.83% to 6.17%; and makeup products manufacturer C&C International from 5.15% to 8.49%.

The investor cut its stake in cosmetics giant Amorepacific Corp., the operator of beauty brands like Innisfree, Hera, Espoir and Ma Monde, from 7.39% to 6.35% in the April-June period.

Write to Byeong-Hwa Ryu at hwahwa@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.