Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/k-bank-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:36073:1" rel="noopener">K Bank (279570 KS)</a> raised around US$340m in its South Korean IPO in March 2026. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.</li>
<li>K Bank is one of three Internet-only banks in Korea. It provides a full range of commercial banking products and services.</li>
<li>In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.</li>
</ul>



K Bank (279570 KS) raised around US$340m in its South Korean IPO in March 2026. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.
K Bank is one of three Internet-only banks in Korea. It provides a full range of commercial banking products and services.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.


Aequitas Kbank Lockup Expiry - Most Investors Will Be Out of Lockup, as 23% of Stock Is Released

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>FSC Chairman Kim Joo-hyun mentioned that too many companies in Korea are trading below book value and the FSC plans to implement changes to improve upon this issue. </li>
<li>According to Korea Exchange, 1,111 companies out of total listed in KOSPI and KOSDAQ in Korea (2,538) are trading at below 1x book value (PBR) (liquidation value). </li>
<li>According to the Capital Group, about 39% of companies in the TOPIX trade below book value, compared to just 5% for companies in the S&amp;P 500 Index. </li>
</ul>


FSC Chairman Kim Joo-hyun mentioned that too many companies in Korea are trading below book value and the FSC plans to implement changes to improve upon this issue. 
According to Korea Exchange, 1,111 companies out of total listed in KOSPI and KOSDAQ in Korea (2,538) are trading at below 1x book value (PBR) (liquidation value). 
According to the Capital Group, about 39% of companies in the TOPIX trade below book value, compared to just 5% for companies in the S&amp;P 500 Index. 


44% of Korean Stocks Are Trading Below Book Value - FSC Wants to Improve This (Following Japan)

Asia Pac ECM and Index Rebal, Shenton Research

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Asia Pac ECM and Index Rebal

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China Biotech

Shenton Research

Shenton Research is an independent Asia Pacific equity specialist. Our quantitative research covers index rebalancing flows, alongside exchange data analytics accross Asia Pacific. On the equity capital markets side, we focus on Asia Pacific ECM, especially biotech and TMT. Our lead analyst is frequently cited by international media.

Quantitative Analysis

<ul>
<li>We analyzed the changes in foreign holdings of KRX stocks as of Aug 21st. The aggregated holding was USD1,681.4bn.</li>
<li>We estimate that foreign flows to be inflows of USD1,538mln. We tabulate the league table for top changes by value for 1W/4W/1Y and top stocks held by foreign institutions.</li>
<li>We highlight changes of foreign holdings in Samsung Electronics, SamsungElecMech, SK Hynix, SKSQUARE, SKTelecom.</li>
</ul>


We analyzed the changes in foreign holdings of KRX stocks as of Aug 21st. The aggregated holding was USD1,681.4bn.
We estimate that foreign flows to be inflows of USD1,538mln. We tabulate the league table for top changes by value for 1W/4W/1Y and top stocks held by foreign institutions.
We highlight changes of foreign holdings in Samsung Electronics, SamsungElecMech, SK Hynix, SKSQUARE, SKTelecom.


KRX Foreign Holding Weekly (Aug 21st): Samsung Electronics, SamsungElecMech, SK Hynix, SKSQUARE

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>One of the biggest stories in the Korean economy in the past two days have been the quasi bank run at MG Community Credit Cooperative (MGCCC) (새마을금고).</li>
<li>The negative news about this has contributed to KOSPI falling two consecutive days (down 2% from July 5th to 7th). </li>
<li>MGCCC's delinquency rate jumped from 1.93% at the end of 2021 to 3.59% at the end of 2022 and 6.18% as of June 29th 2023.</li>
</ul>


One of the biggest stories in the Korean economy in the past two days have been the quasi bank run at MG Community Credit Cooperative (MGCCC) (새마을금고).
The negative news about this has contributed to KOSPI falling two consecutive days (down 2% from July 5th to 7th). 
MGCCC's delinquency rate jumped from 1.93% at the end of 2021 to 3.59% at the end of 2022 and 6.18% as of June 29th 2023.


A Quasi Bank Run at MG Community Credit Cooperative - What's Next?

<ul>
<li>We analyzed the changes in foreign holdings of KRX stocks as of Aug 14th. The aggregated holding was USD1,641.7bn.</li>
<li>We estimate that foreign flows to be inflows of USD2,253mln. We tabulate the league table for top changes by value for 1W/4W/1Y and top stocks held by foreign institutions.</li>
<li>We highlight changes of foreign holdings in SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, SKSQUARE, Samsung Elec (PREF), Celltrion.</li>
</ul>


We analyzed the changes in foreign holdings of KRX stocks as of Aug 14th. The aggregated holding was USD1,641.7bn.
We estimate that foreign flows to be inflows of USD2,253mln. We tabulate the league table for top changes by value for 1W/4W/1Y and top stocks held by foreign institutions.
We highlight changes of foreign holdings in SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, SKSQUARE, Samsung Elec (PREF), Celltrion.


KRX Foreign Holding Weekly (Aug 14th): SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, SKSQUARE, Samsung Elec (PREF)

South Korea

Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd., a holding company, provides a full range of consumer and commercial banking-related financial services.  The company's main businesses include banking, securities brokerage, trust banking, and assets management to individuals, businesses, and other financial institutions.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
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Shinhan Financial Group Adr (SHG US)

Aequitas Kbank Lockup Expiry - Most Investors Will Be Out of Lockup, as 23% of Stock Is Released

K Bank (279570 KS) raised around US$340m in its South Korean IPO in March 2026. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.

Sumeet Singh

44% of Korean Stocks Are Trading Below Book Value - FSC Wants to Improve This (Following Japan)

A 44% of Korean stocks are trading below book value. FSC wants to improve this, following Japan's "name and shame" policy.

Douglas Kim

KRX Foreign Holding Weekly (Aug 21st): Samsung Electronics, SamsungElecMech, SK Hynix, SKSQUARE

We analyzed KRX foreign holding data for the past week and highlighted foreign holding changes in Samsung Electronics, SamsungElecMech, SK Hynix,...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

A Quasi Bank Run at MG Community Credit Cooperative - What's Next?

One of the biggest stories in the Korean economy in the past two days have been the quasi bank run at MG Community Credit Cooperative (MGCCC) (새마을금고).

Douglas Kim

KRX Foreign Holding Weekly (Aug 14th): SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, SKSQUARE, Samsung Elec (PREF)

We analyzed KRX foreign holding data for the past week and highlighted foreign holding changes in SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, SKSQUARE, Samsung...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)