Freezing IPO Market... Eyes on Major 'Big Fish' in the Second Half

SK Shielders, One Store, and Taelim Paper
Repeated IPO Withdrawals Amid Bear Market

Socar and Kurly IPOs Planned for Second Half
"Focus on Performance of Major Companies"

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] Recently, companies that had pursued initial public offerings (IPOs) have been withdrawing their listings one after another, leaving the public offering market still on thin ice in the dead of winter. This is the result of a continued bear market caused by the start of monetary tightening in the United States and a significant contraction in investment sentiment toward risky assets due to the aftermath of the Ukraine war.

According to the securities industry on the 10th, six companies have withdrawn their listings on the Korea Exchange after going through demand forecasting this year. Especially since May, as the stock market decline deepened, companies have successively abandoned their listing plans. SK Shieldus, considered a major IPO candidate aiming to enter the Korea Exchange, withdrew its listing on the 6th of last month citing market conditions. On the 11th of the same month, One Store and Taelim Paper also gave up their listings for the same reason. Additionally, 12 companies have withdrawn their preliminary review applications this year. Companies such as Future Medicine and Dream Insight withdrew during the preliminary review process.

The background for the withdrawal of listings is analyzed to be the sluggish domestic and international stock markets, low valuations of growth stocks, and stricter listing examinations. Companies that wanted to receive a high public offering price relative to their performance gave up entering the stock market as they had to accept a lower offering price than their expectations.

However, depending on the success of IPOs in the second half of the year, there is a possibility that the public offering market will heat up again. According to DB Financial Investment, as of the end of last month, a total of 17 companies are preparing for listing through demand forecasting. Fifty-four companies are undergoing preliminary listing reviews. Major IPO candidates with a market capitalization of over 1 trillion won, such as Socar and Kurly, are scheduled to proceed with their IPOs.

The IPO briefings, which had stalled over the past month, are also showing signs of resuming. Winia Aid held an IPO briefing on the 8th of this month and announced plans to list on the KOSDAQ. Winia Aid plans to conduct demand forecasting until the 10th of this month, followed by subscription on the 14th and 15th, and aims to list on the KOSDAQ market within this month. Laser Cell also held a corporate briefing on the same day and announced plans to list within this month. Prior to this, Bflysoft held an IPO briefing on the 2nd. Eugene Hyung Yoo, a researcher at DB Financial Investment, analyzed, "Whether these companies proceed with their listings and the finalized public offering prices will influence the overall investment sentiment in the IPO market in the second half of the year."

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