Increase in Fundraising Disclosures on KOSDAQ Amid Economic Downturn
The number of disclosures by listed companies on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market increased by 17.5% compared to the previous year. In particular, English disclosures surged by 58.2%.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, the total number of disclosures by KOSPI-listed companies last year was 25,297, up 17.5% from the previous year. This means that on average, each KOSPI-listed company made 29.8 disclosures last year, an increase of 4.1 disclosures compared to the previous year.
By type, ad hoc disclosures reached 17,046, up 11.3% from the previous year. Disclosures related to single sales and supply contracts increased in connection with companies’ business and production activities, and disclosures related to investment activities such as acquisition and disposal of other companies’ stocks, acquisition and disposal of tangible assets, and new facility investments all increased. Litigation disclosures related to corporate management activities also rose significantly, and disclosures related to issuance of securities, including capital increases, capital reductions, and issuance of stock-related bonds, also increased.
Voluntary disclosures also increased by 16.5% to a total of 1,621 last year. Clarification disclosures increased due to companies’ proactive willingness to provide information regarding rumors and reports, and disclosures related to corporate value enhancement plans increased as companies actively participated in value-up programs.
Fair disclosures last year totaled 1,742, up 2.4% from the previous year, while inquiry disclosures decreased by 4.9% to 58 cases.
English disclosures surged by 58.2% to 4,830 cases due to the phased mandatory implementation of English disclosures and support services provided by the exchange. The number of companies designated for poor disclosure practices last year was 34.
In the case of the KOSDAQ market, the total number of disclosures increased by 6.8% from the previous year to 23,860. The average number of disclosures per company increased by 0.3 compared to the previous year.
By disclosure type, ad hoc disclosures were the most frequent at 20,851, followed by voluntary disclosures at 1,959, fair disclosures at 938, and inquiry disclosures at 112.
Disclosures related to treasury stock acquisitions, which are part of activities to expand shareholder returns under the value-up program, also increased by 135 cases.
Meanwhile, 95 companies were designated as poor disclosure companies last year, with 113 designations in total. This represents an increase of 36 companies and 38 designations compared to the previous year.
In particular, poor disclosures related to fundraising increased significantly. Fundraising-related poor disclosures rose by 121.7%, from 23 cases the previous year to 51 cases.
An official from the Korea Exchange stated, "We will continue to encourage active disclosure compliance by KOSPI-listed companies and strengthen their disclosure capabilities through regular disclosure education to enhance market trust. We will also improve global investors’ access to information through support measures for the phased mandatory implementation and expansion of English disclosures."
He added, "We plan to enhance the trustworthiness of the KOSDAQ market by encouraging companies to faithfully comply with disclosure requirements and strengthening disclosure education for listed companies to prevent poor disclosures. We will also solidify disclosure education for companies designated for poor disclosures and continuously conduct consulting to build disclosure systems by diagnosing and suggesting improvements to the disclosure framework."
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