Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
NH seeks to retain top IPO underwriter status
The NH Investment & Securities' headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul / Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min
NH Investment & Securities has begun the process of listing three companies in the first quarter, in a sustained outperformance of its market peers over the past bullish year, market watchers said Monday.
Also explaining its strong initial public offering (IPO) records are nine NH-underwritten companies awaiting approval for a preliminary listing review this year. They were among 29 cleared for preliminary approval last year.
The securities subsidiary of NH NongHyup Financial Group was the top-grossing IPO underwriter last year. Data from the Korea Exchange showed that the NH subsidiary oversaw the listing of 12 companies, raising the IPO fund total to 1.36 trillion won ($1.28 billion). The figure for Mirae Asset Securities came to 1.28 trillion won, followed by Korea Investment & Securities at 859.8 billion won.
Mirae Asset and Korea Investment each have only one company seeking an IPO in the January-March period.
The NH subsidiary will list the three companies on the Kosdaq, the country's tech-heavy bourse, in the first quarter. They are HB Investment, a venture capital firm, Kweather, a weather data platform operator, and Osang Healthcare, a medical equipment manufacturer.
The two-day subscription for HB Investment was completed Jan. 17, whereas Kweather and Osang Healthcare will proceed with the same two-day process from Feb.13 to 14th and Feb. 26 to 27, respectively.
Applications will begin in April for preliminary review for listing.
The NH subsidiary will submit applications on behalf of Lumir, an aerospace startup, and Tentech, a high-frequency beauty device manufacturer.
Angel Robotics, a wearable robot manufacturer will proceed with its IPO, after submitting a securities report. It had won approval for preliminary listing on Jan. 11.
The month of January only has Kosdaq listings, but the following month will see IPOs on the main bourse KOSPI.
Most at stake is which of the five local brokerages will be able to underwrite the IPO for Viva Republica, the operator of Toss, with an estimated corporate value of at least 15 trillion won. Some say the estimate could go as high as 20 trillion won.
Viva Republica recently held a competitive presentation attended by Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, Samsung Securities, KB Securities and NH Investment & Securities. No invites were sent out to foreign securities firms.
The IPO craze can be, some market watchers say, blunted by the recent poor performance of the KOSPI.
The main bourse has dipped below the 2,500-point mark on Jan. 16, and has yet to snap out of the weeks-long weak performance.
The IPO plans can be altogether postponed since no companies are in a hurry to make rash decisions at the expense of undervaluation.
“The major companies will determine the timeline of IPOs based on both the stock market sentiment and conditions in the first quarter,” Eugene Investment & Securities researcher Park Jong-sun said.