Korea Hot Stocks

Wednesday, August 18, 2010
SEOUL, Aug 18 - As of 0110 GMT, the main KOSPI <.KS11> rose 0.09 percent to 1,756.66 points. The index opened up 0.5 percent at 1,763.84 points.
Stocks on the move on Wednesday include:
**LG CHEM UP ON EARNINGS HOPES**
Shares in LG Chem <051910.KS>, the country's largest chemicals maker, rose 2.74 percent, driven by hopes for strong earnings in the third quarter.
'Growing demand from China and India is pushing product prices higher, which will help LG Chem's third quarter earnings,' said Lee Hee-chul, an analyst at HI Investment and Securities.
0107 GMT
** CJ CHEILJEDANG UP ON FEEDMAKER TAKEOVER**
Shares in processed food and sugar maker CJ Cheiljedang <097950.KS> rose 1.6 percent ater the firm decided to take over animal feed maker CJ Global Holdings by placing 91.7 billion won worth of new shares to shareholder CJ Corp <001040.KS>.
'There'll be great synergy effects from the deal as CJ Global will help CJ Cheiljedang expand into overseas markets, which have better growth outlook thanks to growing demand for meat and animal feed,' said Judy Kim, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.
'CJ Global has businesses in markets with high growth potentials such as China, the Philippines and Vietnam, and its overseas operations will boost the earnings of CJ Cheiljedang, which faces limited growth in the domestic feed market.'
0045 GMT
**KOREA EXCHANGE BANK <004940.KS> UP ON ANZ'S INTEREST**
Shares in KEB rose 2.4 percent after sources said that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> was expected to decide by mid-October whether to bid for a majority stake in KEB worth about $4 billion at current prices. [ID:nSGE67G0BW]
The news eased concerns that the stalled sale of South Korea's fifth-largest bank may falter due to weak interest and a rival offer by the Korean government to sell Woori Finance Holdings <053000.KS>.
'The news that ANZ will start due diligence soon is very positive and raised the possibility that the bank could actually bid for KEB,' said Seo Young-soo, an analyst at Kiwom Securities.
'With the Australian dollar firming up against the won and pricing gap with the selling side not so big, ANZ could become quite aggressive and the stalled sale of KEB could progress quickly.'
0023 GMT
(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Miyoung Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)