Top 10 Korean Businesses in the World 2010

There is an updated version of this article here.

We took the Forbes Global 2000 list and summarized where the Top 10 Korean companies for 2010 rank. The Top 10 list describes the type of industry that each company serves and lists the sales, profits, assets and market value for each company. Forbes ranks these global titans by a composite ranking from four metric – sales, profits, assets, and market value.  Some are well known brands here in the US and most are very domestic.

Household names – Samsung, Hyundai and LG enter this category.

Samsung is listed as a semiconductor company and yes they are big in that but I think of them as a conglomerate.  If you have been to Korea, Samsung is connected to everything in some way.  Two-thirds of their gross sales comes from  handsets, networking systems and other consumer electronics (TV, monitor, printer, computer and home appliances).  The rest comes from semiconductor and LCD components.

Hyundai Motor – It is really called  the Hyundai-Kia Automotive group.  As with most Korean global companies, the export market sales dwarfs the domestic market sales 4 to 1.

Hyundai Heavy Industries – This company is the #1 Shipbuilder in the world.  A lot of their revenue comes from heavy equipment, Pipelines and Oil Platforms.

LG – For LG, “Life’s Good”. LG consists of 5 major business groups–Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, Air Conditioning, and Business solutions. The biggest of which is home entertainment which is over 37% of their sales.

The Lesser knowns? There are some names on the list that some may not know. If you have been to or dealt with Korea, these names would be familiar.

Posco – The 3rd largest steel manufacturer in the world.

Korea Electric Power – Owned by the government but now exporting its Nuclear Energy technology.  Sales was around $23B in 2009.

Banking – There are four banking institutions on the list. The Asian banking crisis changed the banking landscape in Korea.

Shinhan Financial – Very young company, incorporated in 2001.  However some strife at the top due to some scandals in recent months.

Woori Finance Holdings – Another very young financial institution, formed in 2001 from the forced merger of 4 predecessor commercial banks and an investment bank (Hanvit, Peace, Kwangju and Kyongnam Banks and Hanaro Investment Banking and their subsidiaries).

KB Financial Group – Two banks merged(Kookmin Bank and H&CB) in 2001 creating KB Financial Group.  KB is the largest bank by both asset value and market capitalization in South Korea.

Industrial Bank of Korea – This bank is owned by the Government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

Enjoy the list!

photo by Sam Garza