November 27, 2024

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The Korea Exchange headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul. (KRX)

South Korea’s tertiary bourse, the Konex, has seen stunning growth since its debut in 2013, with its total market capitalization surging tenfold over the past decade.

Konex, or the Korea New Exchange, is the nation’s third stock market that opened in July 2013 in addition to the benchmark Kospi and tech-heavy Kosdaq. The bourse aims to trade shares in smaller firms and give them growth-inducing capital.

According to the Korea Exchange, the nation’s sole bourse operator, the market size of Konex has surged from 468.9 billion won ($363 million) in 2013 to 4.2 trillion won last year.

During the same period, the number of listed firms has also seen a fivefold increase from 21 to 127. More firms are making their stock debuts in the bourse. During the pandemic years, the exchange continued its expansion, with seven and 14 new listings in 2021 and 2022, respectively. This year, an additional six firms have joined the bourse as of June.

The bourse operator stressed that firms are increasingly relocating to the second-tier Kosdaq after fostering their businesses on Konex. A total of 90 firms have moved up a rank from Konex to Kosdaq over the past decade. Currently, six companies are in the process of relocation, with six others waiting for approval.

In the meantime, a total of 177 Konex-listed firms have financed more than 2 trillion won over the past decade. Back in 2013, their financing remained at 9.4 billion won, but that rose to 276.8 billion won last year.

The KRX said it was working to help Konex-listed firms move up to the Kosdaq by supporting them on accounting and disclosures.

A scale-up fund worth 100 billion won was also launched in April, with plans for another 100 billion won support later in the year.

“We expect Konex to further expand as more firms are joining the bourse and moving up to Kosdaq through the scale-up fund,” the KRX said.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)