À̹ÌÁö È®´ë The world¡¯s biggest fund operator BlackRock Inc. shed a partial stake in South Korea¡¯s leading steel maker Posco and major chemical firm Kumho Petrochemical Co. as the companies¡¯ stocks continued to be weighed down by concerns over a slowdown in the economy.
The New York-based investment giant disclosed Monday that it cut its ownership in Posco from 6.23 percent to 5.23 percent and Kumho Petro Chemical from 5.12 percent to 4.09 percent to recoup the investment.
BlackRock that has assets worth $7.43 trillion under its management as of the end of last year holds stakes in some large-cap stocks in Korea.
The U.S. money manager has bought and sold stocks in Posco from time to time for regulatory capital purpose since its ownership exceeded 5 percent for the first time in January 2016. It had upped its stake from 5.22 percent to 6.23 percent in April 2019.
Posco shares kept losing streak since they had peaked at 400,000 won ($326.48) in February 2018. The stock rose 2.47 percent to 187,000 won from the previous session as of 2:05 p.m. on Tuesday, but the price is about 21 percent lower than 236,500 won at the end of 2019.
BlackRock also cut its holding in Kumho Petrochemical to 4.09 percent, being released from the public disclosure rule that requires investors owning more than 5 percent stake in a certain company to disclose stock transactions within five days.
Kumho Petro Chemical fell 0.98 percent to finish Tuesday at 71,000 won. It is 40.8 percent lower than its peak price of 120,500 in June 2018.
By Han Woo-ram and Choi Mira
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