Ford says it will spend $30 billion to fuel its electric vehicle future – Yahoo Finance

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(Bloomberg) -- While a flood of retail investing in growth sectors has pushed South Korean stocks near record highs, one hedge fund says theres still value to be found in the countrys conglomerates.Heavy individual-investor buying of shares in niche sectors such as electric vehicles and biotechnology helped the Kospi index climb 56% over the past year, making it the worlds sixth-best performing benchmark. Yet Samsung Electronics Co.s forward earnings multiple is only about half that of Apple Inc., while Hyundai Motor Co. trades at 64% of book value.An interesting thing about the Korean market is that in certain pockets, it can be very hot, but in some other parts, it can also be extremely cheap, James Lim, a California-based senior research analyst Dalton Investments LLC, said in an interview.The $3.2 billion hedge fund bought shares of some of the countrys family-owned conglomerates, or chaebol, when their prices declined during the first quarter, Lim said, declining to specify exactly which stocks. Dalton is generally positive on Samsung, Hyundai, SK Inc. and LG Corp., he said.His remarks come as investors have begun to wonder if Korean stocks have risen too much, too quickly. Despite trading sideways over the past month amid the partial lifting of a ban on short-selling and global concern over inflation, the Kospi has more than doubled from its pandemic low.Thats helped push the gap between fundamentals and valuations for chaebol stocks to one of the historically widest levels, Lim said. While holding companies tend to trade at lower valuations than their higher-profile operating units, shares of South Koreas business groups have additionally suffered over the years from concerns about weak corporate governance and low shareholder returns.Compared to their net asset value or estimated real net asset value, the discount can be easily 50% to 70%, the analyst said Thats something you dont see frequently in other markets.Lim said that the situation is improving, with the big four groups increasingly aligning management and shareholder interests. They have also begun to make share-price performance one of the key criteria for measuring management performance.Longer-Term StorySK Inc. aims to boost its market value by sevenfold to 140 trillion won ($125 billion) by 2025, its chief executive said at the annual shareholder meeting in March. Shares of the holding company are up 8.7% so far this year, outperforming the 5.1% increase in chipmaker unit SK Hynix Inc., but lagging the 46% and 34% gains at EV-battery supplier SK Innovation Co. and mobile carrier SK Telecom Co.LG Corp. shares rallied this year, boosted in part by its plan to split off some slower-growth businesses to focus on its high-tech holdings, including LG Electronics Inc. and LG Chem Ltd. The shares resumed trading on Thursday after a monthlong halt amid the reorganization.While Lim said the chaebol stocks are attractive because the market has yet to price in such reform efforts, he added that it could take investors 3 to 5 years to understand how to properly value them.This is more of a longer-term story, he said, adding that it is very difficult to explain the valuation of some Korean holding companies.(Updates share moves in ninth paragraph)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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Ford says it will spend $30 billion to fuel its electric vehicle future - Yahoo Finance