Lotte soars in debut on investor hopes for better returns

SEOUL: Shares in Lotte Corp, the new holding company for South Korea’s No. 5 conglomerate, soared some 45% on their debut above their issue price, bolstered by hopes for better corporate governance and shareholder returns.

Although the debut comes at a difficult time for the conglomerate, which has been hit by political tensions between Beijing and Seoul, combined valuations for the group’s main listed firms yesterday were some 17% above levels for comparable entities in late September.