K-OTC Market Cap Hits 22 Trillion Won, Up 30% YoY... Over 20 New Entries Expected

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] The size of the K-OTC market, an over-the-counter stock market within the institutional framework, is rapidly expanding. The K-OTC market refers to a market where over-the-counter companies can trade stocks within the institutional framework, following the KOSPI, KOSDAQ, and KONEX markets as part of the domestic stock market.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 20th, as of the 17th, the total market capitalization of the K-OTC market reached 22.1 trillion KRW, a 30% (5.1 trillion KRW) increase from 17 trillion KRW at the end of last year.

The average daily trading value this year also rose significantly to 6 billion KRW, surpassing 5.15 billion KRW in 2020 and 4.03 billion KRW in 2019.

The total number of companies traded is 140, showing a clear increase in newly entering companies. This year, 11 companies newly entered the market, approaching last year's 12. It is expected that the number of new entrants will exceed 20 this year for the first time in six years since 2015.

The growth of the K-OTC market size is due to the funding needs of small and medium-sized venture companies. For investors, it offers the opportunity to achieve high returns through pre-listing investments in promising companies.

In fact, the amount raised by small and medium-sized venture companies through capital increases and other means reached 3.0852 trillion KRW by the end of June.