[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] AmorePacific has continued to buy POSCO Holdings since mid-June as pension funds, including the National Pension Service, have been intensively selling POSCO Holdings.

Shares of POSCO Holdings have been weakening day after day due to the pension fund's intensive selling offensive and unfavorable lithium prices. On the other hand, AmorePacific has emerged as the biggest beneficiary after China allowed group tours to South Korea for the first time in six years in addition to buying pension funds, and its stock price is also on the rise.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 15th, the pension fund sold a large number of POSCO Holdings shares for 18 consecutive business days from the 20th of last month to the 14th of this month. The pension fund's net selling of POSCO Holdings during the period amounted to nearly KRW 400 billion. The number of shares stands at 650,000. As of the end of last year, the National Pension Service's stake in POSCO Holdings was 9.1%, but it is estimated to have fallen to the 7% level this year as it began to realize large-scale profits.

There seem to be two major factors behind the pension fund's intensive sale of POSCO Holdings. First of all, it is a controversy over overvaluation. The Morgan Stanley report late last month served as a catalyst.

The stocks purchased by the pension fund after selling POSCO Holdings are expected to benefit from the resumption of group tours to China, including AmorePacific, Hotel Shilla and LG Household & Health Care. Even before the Chinese government officially announced it, the pension fund seems to be quickly responding to the change in the leading sector by buying a large number of stocks.

In fact, in terms of pension fund supply and demand, AmorePacific, the flagship beneficiary, has been net buying for consecutive months from the 26th of last month to the 14th of this month, showing strong confidence in the stock price rise. During this period, the pension fund invested nearly 100 billion won in the purchase of AmorePacific. Hotel Shilla and LG Household & Health Care combined net purchases exceed KRW 200 billion.

 

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