IPOs in S. Korea rise 19 pc through Q3

Seoul, Oct 7 (IANS) Initial public offerings (IPOs) in South Korea rose 19 per cent in the first nine months of the year from a year earlier, data showed on Tuesday.

The proceeds from IPOs stood at 3.41 trillion won ($2.43 billion) in the January-September period, compared with 2.85 trillion won for the same period last year, according to the data from consulting service provider IR Kudos Corp, reports Yonhap news agency.

A total of 55 companies made their debuts on the main bourse KOSPI and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets during the cited period, up from 47 companies going public a year earlier.

LG CNS Co., an information technology affiliate of LG Electronics Inc., amassed the largest amount of IPO money at 1.19 trillion won, followed by DH Shipbuilding Co. with 500 billion won and Seoul Guarantee Insurance Co. (SGI) at 182 billion won, according to the data.

The consulting firm said IPOs will increase during the rest of the year amid a bullish run, the data said.

The country's benchmark index, the KOSPI, has advanced more than 43 per cent so far this year.

But the country's financial regulator said earlier it will introduce stricter rules for IPOs.

Starting next year, over 40 per cent of IPO shares will be first allotted to institutional investors who guarantee the holdings of IPO shares for a certain period, usually three to six months.

Currently, only about 20 per cent of IPO shares are sold to such institutional investors to help with the smooth debut of a new company on the stock market.

The measure will come as some institutional investors have been under fire for pocketing decent gains by selling IPO shares on the first day of trading.

--IANS

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