SEOUL: Samsung Group’s two insurance firms said on Wednesday they will sell $1.3 billion worth of stock in the conglomerate’s biggest earner, Samsung Electronics, to maintain regulatory compliance.
Samsung Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. separately said their electronics affiliate’s current policy of canceling its own shares to raise the value of investors’ holdings risks pushing their own holdings beyond regulatory limits.
Samsung Electronics stock fell 3.5 percent after local media first reported the sales plans, as investors feared the sudden increased supply would push down its price, analysts said.
The announcements come at a time when regulators are questioning conglomerates’ cross-shareholding arrangements, saying the web-like ownership structures undermine corporate governance by allowing founding families to control business empires with only direct minority stakes in key units.
In South Korea, conglomerates’ financial arms are required to limit their combined stake in a non-financial affiliate to 10 percent.
Samsung Life owns 8.63 percent of Samsung Electronics stock with a market value of $26 billion. It said it will sell 1.2 trillion won ($1.11 billion) worth in a single transaction before the stock market opens on Thursday, reducing its stake to 7.92 percent.
Samsung Fire & Marine said it will also conduct a block sale of 206 billion won worth of stock, reducing its stake to 1.38 percent from 1.45 percent.
The block sale in 48,300 won – 49,500 won each range represents a discount of up to 2.4 percent to Samsung Elec’s last traded price, according to a term sheet of the deal seen by IFR on Tuesday.
Samsung Life may need to further reduce its holding should parliament push through a 2016 proposal to limit an insurer’s investment in any affiliate to 3 percent or less of the insurer’s total assets, to promote stable asset management.
The ownership of South Korea’s powerful conglomerates has come under increased scrutiny this year following a series of scandals involving members of conglomerates’ founding families.
The chairman of the Financial Services Commission recently said Samsung — a group of 62 affiliates — must consider ways to reduce the risk of having too much of its $375 billion assets concentrated in one place, including selling some or all of Samsung Life’s stake in Samsung Electronics.
The chief of the Korea Fair Trade Commission also called the group’s ownership structure “unsustainable.”
In April, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. sold $526 million worth of shares in affiliate Samsung C&T Corp. to reduce cross-shareholding and secure funds for investment.
Samsung firms sell $1.3 billion Samsung Electronics stock to maintain compliance
Samsung firms sell $1.3 billion Samsung Electronics stock to maintain compliance
Saudi stocks rebalance after Kingdom opens market to global investors
- Foreign access reforms trigger short-term volatility while underlying market fundamentals hold
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s stock market experienced a volatile first week following a landmark decision to fully open the market to foreign investors—a move analysts view as essential to funding the Kingdom’s sweeping economic transformation plans.
The Tadawul All Share Index began the week with a sharp decline, falling 1.89 percent on Feb. 1, the same day new regulations eliminating key restrictions on international investment officially came into force. The index rebounded the following session and remained in positive territory for three consecutive days before slipping once more, ultimately ending the week down 1.34 percent.
Ownership data from Tadawul as of Feb. 1 indicated that foreign non-strategic investors reduced their holdings in nearly half of the companies listed on the TASI. An analysis conducted by Al-Eqtisadiah’s Financial Analysis Unit showed that foreign ownership declined in 120 firms, increased in 97 others, and remained unchanged across the remainder. Despite these shifts, the total number of shares held by foreign investors showed no overall change.
Speaking to Arab News, economist Talat Hafiz addressed the initial volatility in the TASI, explaining: “Stock markets in the Kingdom and globally naturally experience fluctuations driven by profit-taking and price corrections.”
He added that the index’s decline and subsequent recovery “appears to be primarily the result of technical and sentiment-related factors rather than a direct reaction to the opening of the market to foreign investors.”
Hafiz emphasized that this was particularly evident given that foreign participation in the Saudi market is not entirely new, having previously existed under alternative regulatory structures.
The market turbulence coincided with sweeping reforms enacted by the Capital Market Authority and announced in January. These measures included the removal of the restrictive Qualified Foreign Investor framework, which had imposed a $500 million minimum asset requirement, as well as the elimination of swap agreements. The reforms aim to attract billions of dollars in fresh investment while improving overall market liquidity.
Hafiz noted that an initial surge of foreign capital was widely expected to generate short-term volatility as portfolios were rebalanced and liquidity dynamics adjusted. However, the rapid recovery of the index suggests that the market’s underlying fundamentals remained strong and that investor confidence was not significantly undermined.
Earlier in January, experts had told Arab News that the reforms could unlock as much as $10 billion in new foreign inflows. Tony Hallside, CEO of STP Partners, described the move as a pivotal evolution, signaling that the Kingdom is committed to building the most accessible, liquid, and globally integrated financial markets in the region.
Hafiz reinforced this optimistic outlook, stating that broader market access is likely to yield positive effects by boosting liquidity, widening participation, and supporting overall market recovery—ultimately contributing to greater long-term stability once near-term adjustments ease.
He said: “TASI’s swift rebound reflects the market’s constructive response to increased openness and deeper investor participation.”
Hafiz said he does not believe the market opening is primarily intended to function as a conventional financing channel. Instead, he argued that its broader objective lies in the internationalization of the Saudi market, a goal underscored by its inclusion in major global indices.
He explained that attracting foreign capital should be understood less as a short-term funding solution and more as a structural reform aimed at strengthening market depth, efficiency, transparency, and global integration.
The Saudi economist added that while increased foreign participation can indirectly support Vision 2030 by enhancing liquidity and reducing the cost of capital, the opening of the market is “not designed as a direct mechanism to revive or fast-track projects that may have faced funding constraints.”
Rather, it creates a more resilient, globally connected financial ecosystem that can sustainably support long-term development ambitions, according to Hafiz.
As the market continues to stabilize, investors and observers are monitoring which sectors are expected to attract the largest share of investment in the coming weeks and months.
Hafiz told Arab News that foreign investment is expected to initially focus on companies operating in strategically significant, high-growth sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and technology, in addition to mining, energy, and telecommunications.
He added that experienced foreign investors are likely to gravitate toward firms demonstrating strong financial disclosure practices, sound corporate governance, adherence to environmental, social and governance standards, and a track record of consistent dividend payouts.
