Shares in South Korean online lender KBank traded as high as 9,880 won ($6.76) per share on Thursday morning after its market debut, 19% above its initial public offering price of 8,300 won per share.
Last month, Kbank priced its IPO at the bottom of end of its indicative range to raise 498 billion won ($337.28 million).
Kbank selected the bottom of the range to minimise volatility of the stock price after the IPO, the online lender said in a statement last month, adding that the market cap after listing will start at 3.3 trillion won.
The lender is planning to spend the proceeds on loans for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as investing in banking technology and digital assets.
In 2024, the company had scrapped its IPO, citing insufficient demand for the listing. At the time, the deal was expected to raise up to 984 billion won if the pricing came in at the top end of its range, which would have valued the company at up to 5 trillion won.
Shares of Kbank were trading up 14.3% as of 0012 GMT, versus benchmark the KOSPI’s .KS11 10.4% rise.
Kbank’s listing comes a day after South Korean shares sank 12% on Wednesday, posting the biggest drop in its 46-year history and wiping half a trillion dollars in value just this week, as fears the Iran war could cripple Asia’s fourth-largest economy sent the won to a 17-year low.
($1 = 1,461.7600 won)
Reuters
