Kosdaq Celebrates 25th Anniversary... Market Cap Grows 50x, Trading Volume 500x

Number of Listed Companies Increases More Than Fourfold
KOSDAQ Index Surpasses 1000 Points for the First Time in 20 Years

The KOSDAQ market, celebrating its 25th anniversary, has grown more than 50 times in market capitalization and over 500 times in trading volume over the past 25 years. (Provided by Korea Exchange)

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Since its launch, the KOSDAQ has grown in scale by more than 50 times in market capitalization and over 500 times in trading volume over 25 years. The number of listed companies has also increased more than fourfold.

On the 30th, the Korea Exchange celebrated the 25th anniversary of the KOSDAQ market opening by analyzing and announcing its major achievements over the past 25 years.

Launched on July 1, 1996, with a market capitalization of 7.6 trillion KRW, the KOSDAQ recorded a market capitalization of approximately 428 trillion KRW as of the 29th, growing more than 50 times. The average daily trading volume exceeded 12 trillion KRW this year after reaching the 10 trillion KRW level last year. This represents an increase of more than 500 times compared to the average daily trading volume of 2.3 billion KRW at launch.

The number of listed companies has also increased significantly. The number of listed companies, which was 341 at launch, rose to 1,506 as of June this year. For the past three consecutive years, new listings have exceeded 100 annually.

Efforts to discover companies with high growth potential have continued. The listing system was reformed to focus on growth potential, such as through the technology special exception, expanding listing opportunities for companies with high growth potential. As a result, technology special exception listings surpassed 100 companies 15 years after the system was introduced in 2005.

The market structure has also been reorganized. It has grown from a market concentrated on manufacturing sectors such as telecommunications equipment and parts to one with a portfolio of various growth industries including cultural content, bio, and healthcare. In fact, the market capitalization share of the bio and healthcare sector, which was only 0.4% in 1999, increased to 16.7% as of June this year.

Despite the dot-com bubble in 2000 and the US-originated financial crisis in 2008, efforts to enhance market credibility have continued. Insolvent companies were delisted early, and corporate information disclosure was expanded. Through substantive delisting reviews, insolvent companies were removed early, and tailored disclosure guidelines for the pharmaceutical and bio industries were established.

Although the index fell below 500 points last year due to COVID-19, bio-related stocks leading in diagnostics, treatment, and vaccine development drove the KOSDAQ market's rise. This year, the KOSDAQ index surpassed the benchmark of 1,000 points for the first time in about 20 years since the dot-com bubble.

The Korea Exchange stated, “Recovering the 1,000-point mark has laid the groundwork for a new leap forward,” adding, “Since the market’s inception, 67.4 trillion KRW has been raised, fulfilling the market’s fundamental role of supplying venture capital.”

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