[THE INVESTOR]  The listed affiliates of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group increased their market capitalization by 57.3 percent this year, the highest among the 10 largest conglomerates.

In total, the combined market cap of top 10 conglomerates’ listed companies rose 5.4 percent or about 36.49 trillion won (US$31.93 billion) on Oct. 12 compared to the last trading day of 2015.

With the increase, companies belonging to the 10 largest conglomerates now account for 55.2 percent of all KOSPI-listed firms’ market cap. In comparison, the top 10 conglomerates accounted for 54.5 percent of KOSPI-listed firms’ combined market cap.

According to Korea Exchange data, the combined market cap of listed HHI Group companies came to about 13.17 trillion won.

POSCO affiliates were next, with combined market cap of 25.3 trillion won, a rise of 37.5 percent over the same period.

SK Group was third, recording a 14.3 percent rise, followed by Samsung Group that saw a 7.7 percent increase to 352.16 trillion won.

At the other end of the scale, LG Group saw the combined market cap of its subsidiaries rise by 11.8 percent to about 73.25 trillion won, while Hyundai Motor Group and Hanwha Group saw market capitalization shrink by 2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)