“At Least 20 Firms Are Expected to Go Public in KOSPI This Year”

On April 12, Korea Exchange chairman Choi Kyung-soo said at his meeting at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul with executives at non-listed firms and those in charge of business financing at securities companies that a total of more than 20 companies are expected to be listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) during the course of this year.

“This year, a series of large-scale initial public offerings, such as Hotel Lotte and Doosan Bobcat, are to follow one after another in the KOSPI market and the total IPO size is predicted to reach an all-time high,” he mentioned, continuing, “Leading foreign companies like LS Cable Asia and Intercos are likely to jump on the bandwagon to further boost the trend.”

The KOSPI recorded a total IPO size of 8.7 trillion won or so back in 2010. However, the amount dropped to approximately 700 billion won in 2012 and 2013 as domestic IPO conditions deteriorated at a rapid pace. Last year, the amount broke the 2.4 trillion won mark.

In the meantime, the number of IPOs in the KOSPI market nosedived from 18 to seven between 2011 and 2014 but rebounded to 16 last year.