LG Energy Solution becomes S Korea's No.2 firm in stellar stock debut
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Loading... - Qian Huang
- 27 Jan 2022
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LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES) saw its shares almost double in price on their trading debut on Thursday, making the electric vehicle (EV) battery maker South Korea's second-most valuable company.
LGES stock began trade at 597,000 won, 99per cent above the 300,000 won price set in South Korea's biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO) which attracted a record US$13 trillion in bids.
The stock fell as much as 25per cent in early trade but still left it second only to that of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in terms of value, with a market capitalisation exceeding 105.3 trillion won (US$87.62 billion) even at the lowest intraday level.
Spun out of LG Chem Ltd, LGES has over 20per cent of the global EV battery market, with customers including Volkswagen AG, General Motors Co and Tesla Inc.
Its debut will set the tone for upcoming IPOs in South Korea as retail investors, so-called ants, flock to the market with liquidity aided by the government's pandemic stimulus policy.
Over 4.4 million retail investors bid a record US$95 billion to subscribe to shares, in what was Asia's largest equity fund raising since China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd raised US$12.9 billion in its 2019 Hong Kong secondary listing.
But it was the electrification of transport that spurred almost 2,000 prospective foreign and domestic institutional investors to lodge bids worth about US$12.7 trillion. Hopefuls often bid big for a greater chance of being allocated shares.
Fewer large equity deals in the rest of Asia is also luring institutional investors to South Korean offerings. Read More…
