KOSDAQ Sees 84 New Listings and 38 Delistings This Year

This year, 84 companies were newly listed on the KOSDAQ market, while 38 companies were delisted.

According to the KOSDAQ Market Division of the Korea Exchange on December 28, a total of 84 companies (excluding SPACs) were newly listed on the KOSDAQ market this year. This represents a slight decrease compared to the previous year's 88 companies. The number of general companies increased to 49 from 46 last year, while the number of technology companies decreased slightly to 35 from 42. In the case of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), the number decreased by 15 compared to the previous year due to reduced listing demand.

Despite the decrease in the number of listed companies this year, the total amount raised through public offerings increased compared to the previous year, and the market capitalization based on the public offering price reached 15.3 trillion won, the highest since 2021. Newly listed companies raised approximately 2.5 trillion won through KOSDAQ market IPOs.

This year's IPOs on the KOSDAQ market are evaluated as having driven qualitative growth, with many strong and promising small and medium-sized companies entering the market and successfully establishing themselves post-listing. Five companies with a corporate value of over 500 billion won (based on the public offering price) were listed this year, the highest number since 2011.

The average amount raised and corporate value (market capitalization based on the public offering price) per newly listed company increased by 12.5% and 17.0%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The number of companies that surpassed a market capitalization of 1 trillion won in their listing year also reached an all-time high this year. As their business potential was highlighted after listing, 11 companies, including Aimed Bio, Orum Therapeutics, and Algenomics, surpassed a market capitalization of 1 trillion won in the year of their listing. In particular, Aimed Bio exceeded 4 trillion won, ranking 12th in market capitalization on the KOSDAQ market.

This year, the average subscription competition ratio reached 1,128 to 1, the highest since 2021, and 87% of IPO prices were set at the upper end of the price band.

Three months after listing, stock prices outperformed the market return by 40.6% this year, whereas last year they underperformed the market return.

This year also saw an increase in the entry of advanced industry companies. The number and proportion of listed companies in key sectors for the nation's future competitiveness-such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, semiconductors, and defense-expanded. In particular, the number of AI companies listed increased significantly, centered on AI application services (API), emerging as a new growth engine. The number of AI companies listed rose from 3 in both 2023 and 2024 to 8 this year.

In the biotechnology sector, more than 20 biotech companies, including large biotech firms and advanced biotech companies applying cutting-edge technology exemptions, were listed for the second consecutive year, demonstrating both quantitative and qualitative growth. Since 2024, the entry of biotech companies into the market has expanded again, with the average market capitalization reaching 833.9 billion won, leading this year's IPO market.

In particular, seven new drug development technology companies were listed this year, the highest since 2018, and among them, three companies succeeded in technology transfers worth more than 1 trillion won.

With the recovery trend in the semiconductor market, the entry of semiconductor companies, which had decreased last year, turned to an increase this year. Notably, companies with growth potential across the domestic semiconductor value chain-including design, materials, equipment, and components-were evenly listed, not limited to specific fields.

With the global status of K-defense rising, IPOs of strong small and medium-sized companies in the defense and aerospace sectors continued to expand. The number increased from 2 companies in 2023 to 3 last year, and 4 companies were listed this year.

The first listing of a global technology company also took place. With the entry of the UK-based deep tech company Terraview Holdings, the listing of foreign companies resumed after four years, and the entry of the first UK-based company diversified the nationalities represented on the KOSDAQ market. Since the introduction of the foreign company technology exemption listing system in July 2019, this marks the first time in six years that a purely foreign technology company has strategically chosen the KOSDAQ market. An official from the exchange explained, "This proves that the KOSDAQ market is a platform for realizing strategic value, such as high recognition of deep tech companies and serving as a bridgehead for entry into the Asian market."

The expulsion of insolvent companies has also expanded. The KOSDAQ market decided to delist a total of 38 companies this year, about 2.5 times the average of the past three years. This year, 15 companies were delisted due to formal reasons, 2.1 times the three-year average, and 23 companies were delisted for substantive reasons, about three times the three-year average.

The average time required for delisting (from occurrence of reason to final delisting decision) for the 23 companies delisted for substantive reasons this year was 384 days, which is about 21% (105 days) shorter than the three-year average of 489 days. In particular, due to recent system improvements, the average time required for delisting or for companies whose delisting was decided in the second half of the year was 261 days, a 48% reduction compared to 497 days in the first half. The number of companies delisted without a grace period was 11, 2.2 times higher than the three-year average of 5.

The exchange plans to faithfully fulfill the role of the KOSDAQ market as a "cradle of deep tech companies" centered on advanced industries that will drive innovation in the Korean economy. An exchange official stated, "To support the realization of national strategic goals such as becoming one of the top three AI powers and securing cutting-edge biotechnology, we will strengthen the linkage with government policies and refine listing review standards for each industry, such as AI and aerospace, in line with advanced technology trends, to closely assess the value and growth potential of core technologies."

In addition, the exchange plans to establish a strict and swift expulsion system for insolvent companies to ensure thorough investor protection. The official added, "By adding substantive review reasons for technology exemption companies, we will strengthen the review of companies that distort the essential purpose of the exemption listing system, and by expanding the organization and personnel dedicated to substantive delisting reviews, we will enhance the verification of the feasibility and implementation performance of improvement plans submitted by companies undergoing substantive review."