Shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) dipped slightly on Friday but trading activity surged after a 50:1 stock split aimed at making it easier for retail investors to buy into the South Korean technology giant.
The shares were trading at 52,200 won ($48.50), down 1.5 percent from the basis price of 53,000 won per share, which Korea Exchange said was calculated by dividing the shares' last pre-split closing price by 50. The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was down 0.6 percent.
Analysts said trading volumes jumped as more investors traded, and attributed the slightly weaker share price to broad concerns about slowing memory chip market conditions since Samsung Electronics share trading was halted after April 27.
“I bought 10 shares in Samsung Electronics. After I return from my military service hopefully it’ll be worth enough money to buy a car,” said Kim Tae-sik, a college student.
Retail investors also commented on social media and investor forums, with one saying that “the Samsung Electronics trading screen is like a madhouse,” while others debated whether to buy now or wait.
As of 0120 GMT, turnover for Samsung shares amounted to 1.08 trillion won ($1.00 billion), accounting for 27 percent of the main board’s KOSPI total turnover.
Samsung accounted for an average of 8 percent of total turnover in the one month before the split, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Shares in the global leader in semiconductors, televisions and smartphones traded at 2.65 million won ($2,467.48) each prior to the split, putting them out of reach of retail investors.
Reuters
