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| gettyimagesbank |
By Anna J. Park
Nongshim's share price jumped on Wednesday, as the country's largest ramyeon manufacturer announced earlier in the day that it will increase the prices of most ramyeon and snack products from next month.
The food company's stock price rose to 311,500 won ($232) at Tuesday's closing, a 6.13-percent increase from the previous trading session. Both foreign investors and institutional investors led the share's price hike, while retail investors net-sold the stock, taking trading profits.
Nongshim said it will raise its prices of ramyeon by 11.3 percent and snack products by 5.7 percent, on average. Specifically, the price of Shin Ramyeon will be increased by 10.9 percent, and Neoguri ramyeon by 9.9 percent. It will be the first increase since August of last year. The company explained that the price hike is unavoidable due to the increased cost burden of raw materials amid high global inflation.
As the stock price of Nongshim, the country's top ramyeon manufacturer, which takes up nearly a 50-percent market share as of last year, soared, other major ramyeon manufacturers also saw an upward movement in stock prices on Wednesday, over the expectation that these companies would also follow suit in increasing their product prices.
Ottogi, which holds about 26 percent of Korea's ramyeon market, also saw its stock price rise by 3.75 percent at Wednesday's closing, finishing at 498,000 won. The stock price of Samyang Foods, which accounts for over 10 percent of the domestic ramyeon market, jumped by 5.38 percent, ending at 117,500 won. Other noodle-related food and snack companies' stocks, Pulmuone and CJ Cheiljedang, also increased by 4.83 percent and 2.48 percent, respectively, on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Paldo, which is another major ramyeon manufacturer with almost a 9-percent share of the local market, is still a private company.
