April 27, 2024

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(Oasis Market)

Online grocery delivery platform Oasis Market passed the preliminary approval for its planned initial public offering on the Korean stock exchange.

In September, Oasis Market applied for a preliminary review for its IPO with lead managers Korea Investment & Securities and NH Investment & Securities.

The Korean e-commerce company is planning to debut on the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets during the first half of 2023.

Established in 2011, Oasis Market entered the online delivery market in 2018. The company is the only e-commerce platform in Korea that has seen profit.

Its operating profit reached 300 million won ($237,000) in 2018, 1 billion won in 2019 and 9.7 billion won in 2020. Last year, Oasis Market’s sales jumped 50 percent on-year to 357 billion won, while its operating profit marked 5.7 billion won.

During the first half of this year, Oasis Market’s sales were 202.4 billion won, increasing 21 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Its operating profit during this time was 7.2 billion won.

Moreover, the company recently has been joining hands with partners from different fields including telecom carrier KT, outlet mall operator Eland Retail and Internet lender K-Bank to enhance its competitiveness in the local market.

According to industry insiders, Oasis Market’s corporate value is expected to be around 1 trillion won.

Meanwhile, since Oasis Market's rival Kurly, operator of the South Korean e-commerce platform Market Kurly, also passed the preliminary approval for its IPO in August, industry insiders are closely watching to find out which firm will become the first e-commerce operator to go public.

Since the IPO process has to be completed within six months after receiving the preliminary approval, it is likely that Kurly will take its next step for listing at the beginning of next year.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)