IPO applications hit 22-year high as market recovers

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IPO applications hit 22-year high as market recovers

HD Hyundai Marine Solution CEO Lee Ki-dong, right, speaks during a press conference on the company's upcoming IPO at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 15. [YONHAP]

HD Hyundai Marine Solution CEO Lee Ki-dong, right, speaks during a press conference on the company's upcoming IPO at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 15. [YONHAP]

 
The number of companies seeking to go public soared to a 22-year high in April as the initial public offering (IPO) market thaws in Korea.
 
Twenty-five companies filed for a preliminary review for an IPO in April according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange, with two — Junjin Construction & Robot and Sanil Electric — seeking to list on the main Kospi bourse and the rest on the secondary Kosdaq.
 
It is the highest monthly figure since March 2002 when 39 companies made such a filing. The all-time high of 60 companies was set in February 2000.
 
The IPO market has gained traction as of late as companies that postponed the application process last year due to high interest rates and slow market now scramble to make their public debut. Seoul Guarantee Insurance, for one, recently relaunched its IPO process, with the first half next year as its target date, after suspending it last October
 
Investor demand remains relatively strong as well, with all of the companies that began trading this year setting their offering prices above the upper end of suggested price bands.

 
Among those, HD Hyundai Marine Solution is on track to be the biggest IPO in the first half of this year.

 
HD Hyundai Marine Solution is a vessel management and part supplier owned by HD Hyundai. The company set its offering price at 83,400 won ($61.30), the upper end of its suggested band, after attracting some 2,000 institutional investors during book building.

 
The firm will begin trading on the Kospi bourse on Wednesday. Its estimated market cap stands at 3.7 trillion won. It will be the largest IPO since that of LG Energy Solution, which went public in 2022.

 
 

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]
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