[Featured Stock] Kiwoom Securities Surges Over 8% on News of 440 Billion Won Rights Offering

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] On the 22nd, Kiwoom Securities surged over 8% following the announcement of a capital increase worth approximately 440 billion KRW.

As of 2:18 PM that day, Kiwoom Securities showed a price of 130,000 KRW, up 8.33% (10,000 KRW) from the previous day. This was attributed to the disclosure that Kiwoom Securities would issue Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stocks (RCPS) to raise operating funds and conduct a third-party allotment capital increase worth about 440 billion KRW. RCPS refers to preferred stocks that allow the investor to demand full or partial repayment of the investment in cash at maturity or conversion into common stock.

Through this capital increase, Kiwoom Securities has paved the way to increase its equity capital to over 3 trillion KRW, enabling entry into the comprehensive financial investment business. Large securities firms with equity capital exceeding 3 trillion KRW qualify as comprehensive financial investment business operators, allowing them to handle corporate credit services such as corporate loans and guarantees. Currently, eight firms have been designated.

Following this capital increase, Kiwoom Securities' separate securities-based capital is expected to rise from 2.7 trillion KRW at the end of Q1 to 3.2 trillion KRW. Hyoseon Jang, a researcher at Samsung Securities, stated, "The future direction of corporate value is expected to hinge on demonstrating efficient capital utilization capabilities."