'Ugly Duckling' SKIET, Ready to Take Off?

IPO Giant's Initial Sharp Drop Fades as Opening Price of 210,000 Won Recovers
Institutions Buy 310.6 Billion Won Over a Month... Foreigners Also Purchase 147.7 Billion Won

No Jaeseok, CEO of SK IE Technology, is striking a drum at the SK IE Technology (SKIET) listing ceremony held on the morning of the 11th at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] SK IE Technology, once considered a major IPO but fell sharply on its first day of listing and became an underdog, has recently recovered its opening price and is making a comeback.

As of 10:01 AM on the 13th, SK IE Technology was trading at 211,000 KRW, up 1,000 KRW (0.48%) from the previous day. This marks six consecutive days of gains. The previous day, it closed at 210,000 KRW, recovering its opening price.

SK IE Technology was regarded as the last major IPO of the first half of this year and received high expectations. It attracted a record-breaking subscription deposit of 81 trillion KRW. However, on its first day of listing, May 11, after setting the opening price at 210,000 KRW, double the public offering price, it plunged 26.43%, failing to achieve "Ttasang" (opening price at twice the public offering price followed by a limit-up). Subsequently, the stock price dropped to the 130,000 KRW range and then hovered between 140,000 and 150,000 KRW. While the price was stagnant, strong buying by institutions continued last month, with foreigners joining in, leading to a strong upward trend. From the 15th to the 25th of last month, the stock rose for nine consecutive trading days, reaching the 170,000 KRW range, and recently, with five more consecutive days of gains, it recovered to the 200,000 KRW range. Based on closing prices, it has been setting new highs recently.

Over the past month, institutions have net purchased SK IE Technology worth 310.6 billion KRW, ranking second after Samsung SDI. During the same period, foreigners also net purchased 147.7 billion KRW, placing them among the top net buyers.

With battery stocks showing strength recently, SK IE Technology, a secondary battery materials company, also rode the wave of growth expectations for separators. Investment plans have also supported the stock price rise. SK Innovation plans to expand the separator production capacity of its subsidiary SK IE Technology from 1.36 billion square meters at the end of this year to 4 billion square meters by 2025. Additionally, the government announced a K-battery development strategy, planning to invest 40 trillion KRW by 2030 to increase secondary battery sales to 166 trillion KRW and exports to 20 billion USD by 2030, which is 7 times and 3 times the current levels, respectively.

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