Hanwha Life Tumbles After Shares Sold at Discount: Seoul Mover

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. (088350), South Korea’s second-largest life insurer, tumbled the most on record in Seoul trading after a shareholder sold stock at a discount.

Shares of Hanwha Life sank 9 percent to 7,250 won as of 9:56 a.m. on the Korea Exchange, the worst performer on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

Hanwha Chemical Corp. (009830) sold about 17 million Hanwha Life shares at 7,200 won apiece before the market opened today, Park Jeong Hwan, who heads Hanwha Chemical’s finance team, said by phone. That’s a 9.7 percent discount to yesterday’s closing price. Proceeds will be used to improve finances and fund future investments, Hanwha Chemical said in a filing yesterday.

“The discount rate was very big,” Song In Chan, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp., said by phone today. “Still, I think the stock price is near its bottom given its stable earnings prospects.”

Morgan Stanley and Hanwha Investment & Securities Co. arranged the transactions.