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The stock price of Korea's most valuable entertainment company extended a surprising winning streak for three consecutive trading days until Thursday. According to data from the Korea Exchange, HYBE shares jumped 11.43 percent at one time during intraday trading on the benchmark KOSPI before closing at 205,500 won, up 7.5 percent from the previous trading day.
This marked the first time in about two months that HYBE shares topped the 200,000-won mark. Investor sentiment remained lukewarm for the past two months as HYBE locked horns with Kakao to gain management control over SM Entertainment.
But after Jimin made headlines as the first Korean artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, shares of his agency hit a new high so far this year. His solo song, "Like Crazy," swept the U.S. Billboard chart on April 3. In 2012, singer PSY's "Gangnam Style" came in second on the chart and remained in that spot for seven weeks.
Jimin's rise to the top had a ripple effect on the stock prices of other major entertainment companies here. SM Entertainment shares closed up 1.87 percent while YG Entertainment rose 2.12 percent. JYP Entertainment also jumped on the overall rally momentum, with its stock price increasing 0.91 percent on the same day.
After the botched acquisition of SM, HYBE reaffirmed its will to purchase overseas music labels to boost its global expansion.
HYBE CEO Park Ji-won recently said he is open to the possibility of taking over music companies abroad that are deemed to be undervalued.
"As the economy enters into the second half of this year, overall asset prices are forecast to decline and we consider purchasing companies in countries such as the U.S., Europe and Japan," Park said later last month during its regular shareholders' meeting.
"Details over specifics ― such as the scale of the acquisition ― will be disclosed later after we give more concrete shape to the plans," Park said.
Even after BTS became a global sensation, K-pop's share of the global music market stands at less than 10 percent. HYBE has for the past few years underscored the importance of its strategic expansion into the U.S. and Japan ― the two powerhouses leading the global music industry ― to increase its market share abroad.
