It was found that the stock prices of corporations that announced value enhancement last year recorded a higher increase rate compared to the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices.
The Korea Exchange noted on the 9th that since the value enhancement announcement was implemented at the end of May last year, the stocks of corporations that made full value enhancement announcements have increased by an average of 3.2% compared to the beginning of the year.
In particular, the stock prices of full announcement corporations in the listed securities market increased by an average of 4.9% compared to the beginning of the year, recording a performance approximately 15 percentage points higher than the KOSPI index return (-9.6%). During the same period, KOSDAQ full announcement corporations saw their stock prices drop by 9.4%, but this is a relatively small decline compared to the KOSDAQ index fluctuation rate (-21.7%).
Last year, a total of 102 corporations announced full and advance disclosures, with participants accounting for over 41% of the entire market based on market capitalization. The exchange explained that particularly in the fourth quarter, 80 corporations participated in full disclosures, indicating that value enhancement announcements are gradually expanding.
The proportion of corporations with a market capitalization of over 1 trillion won accounted for 63% (64 companies) of all value enhancement disclosure corporations, and corporations in the listed securities market led with 83.3% (85 companies) participation.
Corporations that disclosed value enhancement set major goals including increasing shareholder returns (89%·84 companies), improving capital efficiency (73%·69 companies), enhancing growth potential (49%·46 companies), and improving market evaluation (31%·29 companies). Among them, 52% (49 companies) were found to consider non-financial indicators such as governance improvements or enhanced environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management.
The exchange emphasized that the implementation of the value enhancement program has increased the interest of corporations and the market in enhancing shareholder value. Last year, the scale of stock buybacks reached 18.8 trillion won, a 2.3 times increase compared to the previous year (10.5 trillion won), marking the highest level since 2009. The amount of stock retirements also rose to 13.9 trillion won, increasing 2.9 times (9.1 trillion won) from the previous year, the largest in seven years.
The scale of cash dividends also increased to 45.8 trillion won, a 6.3% rise from the previous year, indicating a continued expansion in shareholder returns.
The Korea Exchange said, "As we enter the second year of the value enhancement program, we will continue to encourage listed companies to participate in value enhancement disclosures to ensure its successful establishment in our market" and added, "To this end, we will expand consulting for small and medium-sized listed companies and continue discussions to expand incentives such as tax support."