The week’s biggest news for Korean startups has been the smashing IPO debut of e-commerce startup Coupang. The company achieved record valuation on the first day of its listing. And with Coupang doing great at NYSE, another leading Korean e-commerce startup Market Kurly is also setting its eyes for an IPO this year. KoreaTechDesk brings you what was in the news this week.
From Seoul to the greatest stock exchange 📸 Congratulations @Coupang (NYSE: $CPNG) on joining our #NYSECommunity 🏛 pic.twitter.com/kUvUmJ0i3X
— NYSE 🏛 (@NYSE) March 11, 2021
Foreign media surprised by Coupang’s New York appearance
Source: Yonhap News Agency
Bloomberg News reports that Coupang has achieved record performance since the first day of listing. The Coupang Public Offering (IPO) is the largest since Uber in 2019, and as an Asian company, it is the largest since Alibaba in 2014. Reuters, a global news agency, also said that Coupang was recognized for its higher value than any other US company listed on the New York Exchange this year, saying that it is a’blockbuster debut’.
South Korea’s Coupang jumps 80% in New York stock market debut. Can it deliver for the long term? Here’s our analysis.https://t.co/gm1cypH4fJ
— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) March 12, 2021
After Coupang, Market Kurly seeks IPO in 2021 at home or in U.S.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
South Korean e-commerce grocer Market Kurly said March 12, it has decided to go public within this year and is exploring whether to make its stock market debut at home or in the United States. “We received positive statements from our accounting consultants about going public within this year,” Market Kurly spokesman Song Cheol-wook said. “We are open to all options,” he said, though he said the U.S. is not a fixed destination as debuting on the New York Stock Exchange would require much more analysis considering Market Kurly’s size compared with South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc.
KOCCA to invest 10 billion won in content startups
Source: The Korea Times
The Korean government will invest a total of 10 billion won ($8.7 million) this year to support content startups, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) announced on March 10. Divided into six tracks, KOCCA’s program aims to provide financial and production support to startups at different stages ― pre-stage, early stage (less than three years since its founding), mid-stage (three to seven years since its founding) and companies that are restarting ― through professional consulting, business matching and marketing services.
Mashup Angels’ accumulative investment of 13.7 billion won in startups
Source: Money Today
Mashup Angels, an early startup-specialized investment company, announced on the March 11 that it has invested 13.7 billion won in a total of 109 companies since its establishment in November 2014. The sum of the cumulative follow up investments in companies is 663 billion won. Last year alone, it attracted more than 200 billion won. In 2020, it made 13 new investments.
