Investor attention is focusing on South Korea’s initial public offering market after the Lunar New Year holiday. Subscriptions for major companies such as K Bank, Estim and Axvis will follow from late February through March. A total of 86 companies are understood to be preparing listings on the KOSPI and Kosdaq this year.

The financial investment industry said on Thursday that K Bank will take subscriptions from retail investors over two days on Feb. 20 and 23. The final offer price was set at 8,300 won, the bottom of the indicated range. Total proceeds are 498 billion won, and the post-listing market value is expected to be 3.37 trillion won.

In demand forecasting for institutional investors held from Feb. 4 to 10, 2,007 institutions participated and applied for about 6.55 billion shares. The competition ratio was 199 to 1, and the total order size came to 58 trillion won.

The strong competition ratio despite the large IPO is analysed as reflecting institutions’ high assessment of K Bank’s stable profit base and growth potential.

After completing the retail offering, K Bank is expected to list on the main stock market on March 5 and begin trading. If the listing is finally approved, it will become the first company to enter the KOSPI this year. K Bank will secure room for more than 10 trillion won in new loan growth through the listing.

Axvis and Estim will conduct retail subscriptions side by side on Feb. 23 and 24.

Axvis is a company specialising in intelligent high-power laser solutions. It will offer 2.3 million shares in the listing. The indicated offer price is 10,100 won to 11,500 won, and planned proceeds are 26.5 billion won. It is scheduled to list on the Kosdaq on March 9, with Mirae Asset Securities as lead manager.

Estim is a company that runs brand marketing and content businesses based on intellectual property rights for models and influencers. It will raise 1.8 million shares, all newly issued, with an indicated offer price of 7,000 won to 8,500 won. Total proceeds are 12.6 billion won to 15.3 billion won. It is targeting a Kosdaq listing on March 6, with Korea Investment & Securities as lead manager.

The investment banking industry said K Bank, Musinsa, SK Ecoplant and HD Hyundai Robotics are preparing KOSPI listings. New listings this year are forecast at 86, with total fundraising expected to reach 7.2 trillion won.

HD Hyundai Robotics is targeting a main-board listing this year and recently began IPO preparations. It distributed requests for proposals to securities firms in early December last year and held competitive presentations in January to select lead managers.

HD Hyundai Robotics attracted 180 billion won in investment last October from Korea Development Bank and private equity fund manager KY Private Equity, and was valued at 1.8 trillion won. Its post-listing value is being discussed at around 8 trillion won.

Musinsa, the country’s biggest fashion platform, has also moved quickly into listing procedures. In early December last year it selected Korea Investment & Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities as joint lead managers and is preparing for the listing. It is known to be aiming for a valuation of more than 10 trillion won.

The securities industry is analysing that a favourable environment has formed for the IPO market after the KOSPI broke above the 5,000 level.

A securities industry official said, "The IPO market, which had been relatively quiet, appears to be heating up again starting with the Lunar New Year holiday." The official added, "The key to this IPO market is K Bank’s performance and whether subsequent large IPOs succeed."