Samsung Life IPO set to help chairman Lee become Korea`s richest man

SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) -- A higher-than-expected price in the initial public
offering of Samsung Life Insurance Co. is widely expected to help the chief of
its parent group take the title of South Korea's richest man in stock assets,
industry observers said Sunday.
South Korea's biggest insurer said its offering was priced at 110,000 won
(US$99.14) apiece for 44.4 million shares, the country's biggest stock offering.
Lee Kun-hee, who returned to head Samsung Electronics, the flagship of Samsung
Group, in late March two years after being embroiled in a corruption scandal, is
the biggest shareholder of Samsung Life Insurance with a 20.76 percent stake.
If the IPO price is taken into account, the market value of his stock holding of
the life insurer is estimated at 4.57 trillion won, they added.
This is higher than the roughly 4.14 trillion won in market capitalization Lee
holds in Samsung Electronics Co., and makes it possible for him to become South
Korea's richest man as measured in stock assets. Whether Lee beats Hyundai Motor
Chairman Chung Mong-koo in terms of wealth has been swayed by share prices.
Samsung Everland Inc., the de facto holding company for Samsung Group, holds a
19.3 percent stake in Samsung Life, and the life insurance company owns a 7.2
percent stake in Samsung Electronics, which has stakes in other group affiliates.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)