KOSDAQ Enters Era of 1,500 Listed Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] The number of companies listed on the KOSDAQ market has surpassed 1,500. This comes 13 years and 7 months after surpassing 1,000 companies in October 2007.

On the 17th, the Korea Exchange announced that with the new listings of Ilseung and C&C International, the number of listed companies on the KOSDAQ market has exceeded 1,500.

The number of KOSDAQ listed companies surpassed 1,000 in 2007, 11 years after the market's establishment in 1996. However, following the 2008 financial crisis, the number of new listings shrank, and with the introduction of a substantive review of listing eligibility in 2009, the market underwent a stabilization process, leading to a decrease in the number of listed companies. Since then, the diversification of listing routes such as technology special listings, the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution era, and the spread of the second venture boom have accelerated the increase in the number of listed companies. After surpassing 1,000 companies in October 2007, a total of 944 companies were newly listed, and 445 companies were delisted over a period of 13 years and 7 months.

In terms of the number of listed companies, KOSDAQ ranks third among global emerging markets after the U.S. NASDAQ and Canada's TSX-V, showing a gap of about 450 companies from the fourth place. The Exchange explained, "Excluding the U.S. and China, the growth of global emerging markets is generally stagnating or shrinking, while KOSDAQ maintains steady growth."

The top companies by market capitalization have also changed significantly. In 2007, when there were 1,000 listed companies, traditional high-growth industries such as internet, telecommunications, and finance occupied the top 10 by market cap. Currently, there is an evaluation that a structural shift to future growth industries like bio and secondary batteries has taken place. Due to market revaluation and the activation of listings of high-quality companies, the number of large-cap stocks has increased, and overall corporate market capitalization levels have risen significantly. In 2007, there was only one company with a market cap exceeding 3 trillion won, but now there are nine, and companies with market caps over 200 billion won have increased from 54 to 356. The average market capitalization has also increased 2.5 times, from 106.2 billion won in 2007 to 266.4 billion won currently.

The average assets of listed companies (based on December fiscal year-end corporations) increased by 118% compared to the time when 1,000 companies were listed, and average sales increased by 42%, indicating that company sizes have grown larger. The nationalities of listed companies have also diversified. Since the first foreign company (Three Node Digital) was listed in August 2007, 30 foreign companies have been newly listed, and 9 have been delisted, with 22 foreign companies currently listed. The nationalities of listed companies now include the U.S., China, and Japan.

Among the 341 companies that were listed simultaneously at the market opening on July 1, 1996, 96 companies remain listed today. These are mainly stable, high-quality companies in industries such as construction, distribution, and manufacturing rather than advanced industries like IT and bio.

An official from the Exchange stated, "The Exchange has continuously worked to develop institutional and procedural systems to select companies with growth potential and efficiently bring them into the capital market. The achievement of 1,500 listed companies is the fruit of these efforts. Moving forward, we will focus on establishing an innovative listing system to nurture companies that will lead the 4th Industrial Revolution and become the driving force of future growth."