my timesThe Korea Times
  1. Economy

KRX to ease rules for listings

Listen
  • Published Jul 13, 2015 5:14 pm KST
  • Updated Jul 13, 2015 5:14 pm KST

By Kim Jae-won

The head of the nation’s bourse operator said Monday that he will relax rules for companies so they are able to list their shares more easily.

Choi Kyung-soo, CEO of the Korea Exchange (KRX), said he will let loss-making companies collect funds through initial public offerings (IPOs), if they have potential to grow and possess their own technologies.

“We will change regulations to enable loss-making companies to be listed on the bourses. Mid-sized companies which have potentials to grow and their own technologies will be encouraged to be listed,” said Choi in a luncheon meeting with stock market correspondents.

He said that the KRX aims to list at least 220 companies on its benchmark index KOSPI, tech-heavy minor bourse KOSDAQ and the venture-centered KONEX by the end of this year.

“We set a goal to list 20 companies on the KOSPI, 100 firms on the KOSDAQ and 100 corporations on the KONEX this year. We will achieve the goal by mobilizing all of our resources.”

As part of the listing project, KRX officials have sought to invite foreign companies to the markets by hosting promotion events in the U.S. and other countries.

Choi’s remarks came a few weeks later that the financial regulator announced a blueprint to reform the capital markets, accusing the KRX of lagging behind its Asian rivals in the number of listings.

According to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), 114 companies had been listed on the KRX for three years from 2012 to 2014 while 137 firms had been listed on the Japan Exchange Group and 272 corporations had their IPOs on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing during the same period.

Choi agreed with the government’s plan to transform the KRX into a holding company and list the company on the bourse, hoping that it will help the company leap forward as a global player. He vowed to make the bourse operator competitive in the international stage by overcoming three bad factors ― the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the country, the Greek debt crisis and the volatile Chinese stock markets.

However, unionists of the KRX still oppose the FSC’s plan, worrying it will undermine their working conditions. They argued the holding company proposal is a pre-step to detach the minor bourse KOSDAQ from the KRX, weakening its role as a comprehensive bourse operator.