'Engine of Economic Revival' Domestic Venture Valuation 173 Trillion Won... 11 Unicorns

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Analyzes SME and Venture Company Values
Accounting for 44.8% of KOSDAQ Market Capitalization

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] It has been revealed that the total corporate value of over 4,500 companies that received venture investments in the past six years amounts to 172.8547 trillion KRW. There are 320 domestic companies with a corporate value exceeding 100 billion KRW, and 11 unicorn companies with a corporate value over 1 trillion KRW.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups analyzed and announced on the 24th the corporate value status of small and venture companies that attracted venture investments from 2015 to last year. Corporate value is used as an indicator to understand the growth of the domestic venture ecosystem, the corporate value of innovative startups that received venture investments, and future growth engines. The Ministry analyzed 4,521 small and venture companies for which corporate value could be calculated.

The total corporate value of these companies over the past six years was 172.8547 trillion KRW. This corresponds to 44.8% of the total market capitalization of KOSDAQ, which was 385.5826 trillion KRW as of the end of last year. It is more than seven times higher than the market capitalization of Celltrion Healthcare, the top company in KOSDAQ with a market cap of 24.745 trillion KRW.

There were 11 unicorn companies with a corporate value of over 1 trillion KRW at the time of investment. Companies with a corporate value of over 100 billion KRW numbered 320 (7.1%), those between 10 billion KRW and less than 100 billion KRW numbered 1,969 (43.5%), and companies under 10 billion KRW numbered 2,232 (49.4%).

Notably, the number of prospective unicorn companies with a corporate value over 100 billion KRW increased 6.3 times from 51 in 2015 to 320 last year.

By industry, the average corporate value was highest in the gaming sector at 82.6 billion KRW. Bio and medical followed with 63.9 billion KRW, and distribution and services with 37.6 billion KRW. However, excluding Krafton (corporate value of 12.8 trillion KRW) in the gaming sector, the average drops to 33 billion KRW, and the corporate value multiple relative to investment amount also decreases to 12.5 times.

Among companies with a corporate value over 100 billion KRW, the bio and medical sector had the most with 97 companies, followed by information and communication technology (ICT) services with 68, and distribution and services with 53.

Trends in the Increase of Small and Venture Companies with a Corporate Value of Over 100 Billion KRW by Year

Looking at the 4th industrial revolution sectors, companies related to 5th generation (5G) technology had the highest average corporate value at 74.2 billion KRW. Next were smart healthcare at 65.7 billion KRW and blockchain at 52 billion KRW. Particularly, blockchain companies were valued highest in terms of corporate value multiple relative to investment amount at 19.9 times, followed by 5G at 17.6 times and new materials at 10.3 times. A high corporate value multiple relative to investment amount indicates a high evaluation of future growth potential.

Since 2017, in the non-face-to-face sector, entertainment companies had the highest average corporate value at 65.5 billion KRW, followed by smart business and finance at 45.8 billion KRW, and lifestyle and consumption at 34 billion KRW.

Especially, entertainment companies showed the highest corporate value multiple relative to investment amount at 16.9 times, followed by smart business and finance at 12.3 times, and education at 9.5 times.

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

By region, companies located in Gyeonggi Province had the highest average corporate value at 48.3 billion KRW, followed by Ulsan at 48 billion KRW and Chungbuk at 46.9 billion KRW.

In Chungbuk, ICT services (92.2 billion KRW) and chemical and materials industries (83.9 billion KRW) were highly valued, while in Ulsan, electrical, mechanical, and equipment industries (221.5 billion KRW) and bio and medical industries (36.2 billion KRW) were recognized for high corporate value.

Among the 320 companies with a corporate value over 100 billion KRW, excluding Seoul (162 companies) and Gyeonggi (83 companies), the region with the most such companies outside the metropolitan area is Daejeon with 25 companies.

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "Startup and venture companies will be the driving force for economic recovery and leap forward in the post-COVID-19 era," adding, "This year, the Ministry will strive to create a boom in startups, investments, and exports so that innovative ventures and startups can become the main players in a leading economy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.