Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Equity Capital Markets

<div class="content-highlight">
In this insight, we provide an update of Kakao Bank which is getting ready to release its IPO prospectus in the coming days. Even without the prospectus, the company has already provided a lot of the the company's financials, industry analysis, and other materials in its annual and quarterly earnings filings. In this insight, we try to provide some of our key findings from its financial filings of Kakao Bank, but excluding the bankers' valuation assessment which is not yet available. 
Kakao Bank is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in Korea in 2021. In the gray market, it is currently trading at 96,500 won per share or 39.5 trillion won. The two largest banks in Korea are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kb-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:718:1" rel="noopener">KB Financial (105560 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shinhan-financial-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6978:1" rel="noopener">Shinhan Financial (055550 KS),</a> which have market caps of 22.9 trillion won and 20.6 trillion won, respectively. As a result, Kakao Bank's market cap (in the gray market) is close to the combined market caps of KB Financial and Shinhan Financial (43.5 trillion won) which is quite remarkable. 
</div>


In this insight, we provide an update of Kakao Bank which is getting ready to release its IPO prospectus in the coming days. Even without the prospectus, the company has already provided a lot of the the company's financials, industry analysis, and other materials in its annual and quarterly earnings filings. In this insight, we try to provide some of our key findings from its financial filings of Kakao Bank, but excluding the bankers' valuation assessment which is not yet available. 
Kakao Bank is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in Korea in 2021. In the gray market, it is currently trading at 96,500 won per share or 39.5 trillion won. The two largest banks in Korea are KB Financial (105560 KS) and Shinhan Financial (055550 KS), which have market caps of 22.9 trillion won and 20.6 trillion won, respectively. As a result, Kakao Bank's market cap (in the gray market) is close to the combined market caps of KB Financial and Shinhan Financial (43.5 trillion won) which is quite remarkable. 


Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Event-Driven

Korea has a total of 121 preferred shares.<div class="content-highlight">You can find all the preferred share names in Korea with the disparity to the ordinary shares and the sigma on a 20-day moving average in the attached file.</div><hr>6 prefs in total have a market cap of more than ₩1T. The largest one is Samsung Electronics 1P featuring a market cap of ₩61.6T.<table class="table table-striped">
<colgroup>
<col width="200">
<col width="70">
<col width="70">
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Pref"}'>Top 10 largest market cap prefs in Korea</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Ticker"}'>Ticker</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Market cap (₩B)"}'>Market cap (₩B)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Preference Shares Non Voting"}'>Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Preference Shares Non Voting</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"005935"}'>005935</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":61551.92516}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>61,551.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Hyundai Motor S2 Pref Shs"}'>Hyundai Motor S2 Pref Shs</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"005387"}'>005387</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":4049.885061}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>4,049.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"LG Chem Ltd Preference Shares"}'>LG Chem Ltd Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"051915"}'>051915</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":3344.628}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>3,344.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Hyundai Motor S1 Pref Shs"}'>Hyundai Motor S1 Pref Shs</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"005385"}'>005385</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":2752.305405}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>2,752.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"LG Household &amp; Healthcare Ltd Preference Shares"}'>LG Household &amp; Healthcare Ltd Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"051905"}'>051905</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1553.77578}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>1,553.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"LG Electronics Inc. Preference Shares"}'>LG Electronics Inc. Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"066575"}'>066575</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1254.577416}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>1,254.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Amorepacific Corp Preference Shares"}'>Amorepacific Corp Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"090435"}'>090435</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":978.710841}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>978.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Samsung SDI Co Ltd Preferred Shares"}'>Samsung SDI Co Ltd Preferred Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"006405"}'>006405</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":711.065292}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>711.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Mirae Asset Securities 2PB"}'>Mirae Asset Securities 2PB</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"00680K"}'>00680K</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":697.9}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>697.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Korea Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. Preference Shares"}'>Korea Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"071055"}'>071055</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":521.384339}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"#,##0.0"]'>521.4</td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="3">Source: KRX</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>These are the top 10 preferred shares having the widest disparity to the ordinary shares. Solus Advanced Materials 1P tops the list with a 66.87% disparity. 4 prefs in total are above a 60% disparity to their respective ordinary share. A total of 19 prefs have a +50% disparity to the ordinary shares.<table class="table table-striped">
<colgroup>
<col width="200">
<col width="70">
<col width="70">
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Pref"}'>Top 10 prefs having the widest disparity to ordinary share in Korea</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Ticker"}'>Ticker</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Disparity to ordinary share"}'>Disparity to ordinary share</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Solus Advanced Materials 1P"}'>Solus Advanced Materials 1P</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"33637K"}'>33637K</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.668693009118541}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>66.87%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Amorepacific Corp Preference Shares"}'>Amorepacific Corp Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"090435"}'>090435</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.6653429602888087}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>66.53%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"AmoreG 1P Pref Shs"}'>AmoreG 1P Pref Shs</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"002795"}'>002795</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.6418918918918919}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>64.19%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Doosan Fuel Cell 1P"}'>Doosan Fuel Cell 1P</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"33626K"}'>33626K</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.6262626262626263}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>62.63%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Nexen Tire Corp Preference Shares"}'>Nexen Tire Corp Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"002355"}'>002355</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.5765124555160143}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>57.65%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"BYC Co., Ltd Preference Shares"}'>BYC Co., Ltd Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"001465"}'>001465</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.5660621761658031}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>56.61%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Doosan Fuel Cell 2PB"}'>Doosan Fuel Cell 2PB</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"33626L"}'>33626L</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.5391414141414141}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>53.91%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Hyundai Motor S3 Pref Shs"}'>Hyundai Motor S3 Pref Shs</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"005389"}'>005389</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.5357142857142857}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>53.57%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"LG Household &amp; Healthcare Ltd Preference Shares"}'>LG Household &amp; Healthcare Ltd Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"051905"}'>051905</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.5289624443029918}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>52.90%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"LG Chem Ltd Preference Shares"}'>LG Chem Ltd Preference Shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"051915"}'>051915</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.5266594124047879}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]'>52.67%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="3">Source: KRX</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Korea has a total of 121 preferred shares.You can find all the preferred share names in Korea with the disparity to the ordinary shares and the sigma on a 20-day moving average in the attached file.6 prefs in total have a market cap of more than ₩1T. The largest one is Samsung Electronics 1P featuring a market cap of ₩61.6T.







Top 10 largest market cap prefs in Korea
Ticker
Market cap (₩B)


Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Preference Shares Non Voting
005935
61,551.9


Hyundai Motor S2 Pref Shs
005387
4,049.9


LG Chem Ltd Preference Shares
051915
3,344.6


Hyundai Motor S1 Pref Shs
005385
2,752.3


LG Household &amp; Healthcare Ltd Preference Shares
051905
1,553.8


LG Electronics Inc. Preference Shares
066575
1,254.6


Amorepacific Corp Preference Shares
090435
978.7


Samsung SDI Co Ltd Preferred Shares
006405
711.1


Mirae Asset Securities 2PB
00680K
697.9


Korea Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. Preference Shares
071055
521.4

Source: KRX

These are the top 10 preferred shares having the widest disparity to the ordinary shares. Solus Advanced Materials 1P tops the list with a 66.87% disparity. 4 prefs in total are above a 60% disparity to their respective ordinary share. A total of 19 prefs have a +50% disparity to the ordinary shares.







Top 10 prefs having the widest disparity to ordinary share in Korea
Ticker
Disparity to ordinary share


Solus Advanced Materials 1P
33637K
66.87%


Amorepacific Corp Preference Shares
090435
66.53%


AmoreG 1P Pref Shs
002795
64.19%


Doosan Fuel Cell 1P
33626K
62.63%


Nexen Tire Corp Preference Shares
002355
57.65%


BYC Co., Ltd Preference Shares
001465
56.61%


Doosan Fuel Cell 2PB
33626L
53.91%


Hyundai Motor S3 Pref Shs
005389
53.57%


LG Household &amp; Healthcare Ltd Preference Shares
051905
52.90%


LG Chem Ltd Preference Shares
051915
52.67%

Source: KRX



Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. / Equity Capital Markets

Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS)

<div class="content-highlight">According to K-Bank, it gained 1.72 million new customers in 1Q 2021. This was more than the 1.57 million customers that K-Bank gained from 2018 to 2020. It is estimated about 70% of K-Bank's new customers in 2021 are young people in their 20s and 30s that are flocking to K-Bank to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum at the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, which requires the users to have an account at K-Bank to deposit or withdraw money for cryptocurrency trading.</div><a href="https://www.hankyung.com/finance/article/2021041583121" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Korea Value Asset Mgmt</a> has a 27.1% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Value Asset Mgmt is 100% owned by Korea Investment &amp; Securities, which is also 100% owned by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/korea-investment-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14839:1" rel="noopener">Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS)</a>. Thus, Korea Investment &amp; Securities directly and indirectly owns 31.8% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Investment &amp; Securities currently has a market cap of 5.8 trillion won. If Kakao Bank is valued at 20 trillion won, a 31.8% stake in the company would be worth 6.4 trillion won, which would be worth 110% of Korea Investment &amp; Securities' market cap. Therefore, although the exact number of how many new licenses for Internet banks remains uncertain, we believe that there could be any many as 2 to 3+ new Internet banks in the next 2-3 years. It is probably no coincidence that Kakao Bank is trying to complete its IPO this year. Kakao Bank will be aiming to accelerate this IPO prior to the Korean government giving out new licenses for Internet banks this year.

According to K-Bank, it gained 1.72 million new customers in 1Q 2021. This was more than the 1.57 million customers that K-Bank gained from 2018 to 2020. It is estimated about 70% of K-Bank's new customers in 2021 are young people in their 20s and 30s that are flocking to K-Bank to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum at the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, which requires the users to have an account at K-Bank to deposit or withdraw money for cryptocurrency trading.Korea Value Asset Mgmt has a 27.1% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Value Asset Mgmt is 100% owned by Korea Investment &amp; Securities, which is also 100% owned by Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS). Thus, Korea Investment &amp; Securities directly and indirectly owns 31.8% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Investment &amp; Securities currently has a market cap of 5.8 trillion won. If Kakao Bank is valued at 20 trillion won, a 31.8% stake in the company would be worth 6.4 trillion won, which would be worth 110% of Korea Investment &amp; Securities' market cap. Therefore, although the exact number of how many new licenses for Internet banks remains uncertain, we believe that there could be any many as 2 to 3+ new Internet banks in the next 2-3 years. It is probably no coincidence that Kakao Bank is trying to complete its IPO this year. Kakao Bank will be aiming to accelerate this IPO prior to the Korean government giving out new licenses for Internet banks this year. 

K-Bank Vs. Kakao Bank: A Big Change in New Customers Driven by Cryptos

<div class="content-highlight">
With only three weeks remaining in 2020, we now look forward to the major IPOs in Korea in 2021. This is our 6th "Annual Edition of the Major Korean IPOs Pipeline Preview" already at Smartkarma! In this report, we have identified 50 companies that are expected to complete their IPOs in the Korean Stock Market in 2021. This year has been a big year for IPOs in Korea with many IPOs that have done really well including <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-biopharmaceuticals-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28966:1" rel="noopener">SK Biopharmaceuticals (326030 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kakao-games-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26730:1" rel="noopener">Kakao Games (293490 KS)</a>.  
In 2020, there were only three IPOs in Korea that were more than US$1 billion in market cap including SK Biopharm, Kakao Games, and Big Hit Entertainment. However, in 2021, we believe there could be more than 10 IPOs in Korea that are more than US$1 billion in market cap including the following:
<ol>
<li>LG Energy Solutions</li>
<li>Krafton</li>
<li>SK Bioscience</li>
<li>Kakao Bank</li>
<li>Kakao Page</li>
<li>Kakao Pay</li>
<li>SK IET</li>
<li>One Store</li>
<li>HK inno.N </li>
<li>Coupang</li>
</ol>
</div>


With only three weeks remaining in 2020, we now look forward to the major IPOs in Korea in 2021. This is our 6th "Annual Edition of the Major Korean IPOs Pipeline Preview" already at Smartkarma! In this report, we have identified 50 companies that are expected to complete their IPOs in the Korean Stock Market in 2021. This year has been a big year for IPOs in Korea with many IPOs that have done really well including SK Biopharmaceuticals (326030 KS) and Kakao Games (293490 KS).  
In 2020, there were only three IPOs in Korea that were more than US$1 billion in market cap including SK Biopharm, Kakao Games, and Big Hit Entertainment. However, in 2021, we believe there could be more than 10 IPOs in Korea that are more than US$1 billion in market cap including the following:

LG Energy Solutions
Krafton
SK Bioscience
Kakao Bank
Kakao Page
Kakao Pay
SK IET
One Store
HK inno.N 
Coupang



<div class="content-highlight">
Kakao Bank is one of the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kakao-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15002:1" rel="noopener">Kakao Corp (035720 KS)</a> affiliates which is expected to complete its IPO in 1H 2021. Kakao Bank is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in Korea in 2021. The local media have mentioned the <a href="http://www.thebell.co.kr/free/content/ArticleView.asp?key=202007021435091720105091&amp;svccode=00&amp;page=1&amp;sort=thebell_check_time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">value of Kakao Bank</a> to be about 8 trillion won to 9 trillion won.
Korea Investment Holdings (KIH) has a 33.5% stake in Kakao Bank (indirectly owned through KIH's subsidiaries Korea Investment &amp; Securities and Korea Value Asset Management. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/korea-investment-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14839:1" rel="noopener">Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS) </a>currently has a market cap of 4.4 trillion won so this 2.7 trillion won (33.5% stake in Kakao Bank at a value of 8 trillion won) would be worth 61% of Korea Investment Holding's market cap.
</div>


Kakao Bank is one of the Kakao Corp (035720 KS) affiliates which is expected to complete its IPO in 1H 2021. Kakao Bank is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in Korea in 2021. The local media have mentioned the value of Kakao Bank to be about 8 trillion won to 9 trillion won.
Korea Investment Holdings (KIH) has a 33.5% stake in Kakao Bank (indirectly owned through KIH's subsidiaries Korea Investment &amp; Securities and Korea Value Asset Management. Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS) currently has a market cap of 4.4 trillion won so this 2.7 trillion won (33.5% stake in Kakao Bank at a value of 8 trillion won) would be worth 61% of Korea Investment Holding's market cap.


Kakao Bank (One of the Biggest IPOs in Korea in 2021) - Big Boost to Korea Investment & Holdings

South Korea

Korea Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. is a financial holding company. The Company operates and controls its financial subsidiaries such as Korea Investment & Securities, Korea Investment Partners, and Korea Investment Mutual Savings Bank.

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Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS)

An Update on the Kakao Bank IPO

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Douglas Kim

Korea Prefs Long/Short Pairs Trade Ideas

This post investigates all of Korea's 121 preferred shares for their disparity ratio to the ordinary shares and sigma on a 20-day moving average to...

Sanghyun Park

K-Bank Vs. Kakao Bank: A Big Change in New Customers Driven by Cryptos

In this insight, we discuss the exploding growth of new customers at K-Bank, the IPO expectations of Kakao Bank, and the likelihood of additional...

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2021 Major IPOs Pipeline in Korea

This is our 6th "Annual Edition of the Major Korean IPOs Pipeline Preview" already at Smartkarma! In this report, we have identified 50 companies...

Douglas Kim

Kakao Bank (One of the Biggest IPOs in Korea in 2021) - Big Boost to Korea Investment & Holdings

Kakao Bank is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in Korea in 2021. The local media have mentioned the value of Kakao Bank to be about 8...

Douglas Kim

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