Konex celebrates five years

Five years after its establishment, Korea’s tertiary bourse comprising mostly small businesses has recorded sharp growth on the back of government support for start-ups, the Korea Exchange said on Sunday.

The Konex market opened on July 1, 2013, to trade shares in small and medium-sized businesses and provide them the capital they need to grow.

Since then, its market capitalization has grown by more than 14 times to stand at 6.62 trillion won ($5.94 billion) as of Friday, with the figure surging to a record high of 6.8 trillion won in January this year, according to the Korea Exchange.

Daily turnover soared from 390 million won in 2013 to 62.2 trillion won this year. Trade volume jumped from 61,000 shares in 2013 to 417,000 shares this year.

On the first trading day, 21 companies were on the index, but now, there are 150. So far, 37 firms have moved from the Konex to the second-tier Kosdaq, and seven more are preparing for the transfer.

The market has served as a key platform for aiding fledgling businesses in their initial stages by allowing them to raise funds more easily via stock sales, the Korea Exchange said, noting that 113 listed companies have raised 693.6 billion won over the past five years.

“The Konex market has successfully played a role as a stepping stone for small firms,” the Korea Exchange said, “as shown in cases where firms grew enough to move on to the Kosdaq.”

The stock market operator vowed additional support to help companies smoothly settle in the capital market.

“In order to attract more investors and boost liquidity, we will create diverse funds for products and provide more investment information,” the Korea Exchange said. Yonhap