Capital Research and Management Company, a U.S. asset manager, has acquired additional shares in KT&G.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on Wednesday, Capital Group disclosed that it holds 8,528,191 shares of KT&G for simple investment purposes. Capital Group is the world's largest active fund manager, overseeing $3.3 trillion in assets.
As a result, Capital Group's stake relative to total outstanding shares rose to 8.22%. Capital Group had previously disclosed on May 8 this year that it secured a 5.61% stake in KT&G, and stated on June 9 that it had raised its holdings to 7.21%.
"Through the steady stake expansion by global asset managers with a strong long-term investment orientation, including Capital Group, the company's growth potential and fundamental competitiveness are being recognized," a KT&G official said. "Going forward, we will focus on enhancing shareholder value by building a virtuous cycle of profit growth centered on the global business and shareholder returns."
Meanwhile, BlackRock Fund Advisors, the world's largest asset manager, is also strengthening its investment in KT&G. BlackRock, which secured a 5.01% stake at the end of January this year, disclosed that it additionally acquired 467,350 shares last month. As a result, BlackRock's stake in KT&G was tallied at 6.15%, up 1.14 percentage points from before.
