[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] In the first half of this year, the performance of underwriters in initial public offerings (IPOs) was a mixed bag, depending on whether they secured a share of the Kbank IPO. NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES and SamsungSecurities, which secured a significant portion of the Kbank IPO, ranked among the top underwriters, forming a two-horse race.
According to the financial investment industry on the 2nd, a total of 17 companies went public in the first half of this year, including one on the KOSPI and 16 on the KOSDAQ. The total offering size amounted to approximately 1.1328 trillion won.

The biggest IPO of the first half was #Kbank. Kbank’s offering size was 4980억원, accounting for about 44% of the total public offering amount for the first half. Based on underwriting amounts, the Kbank allocation was distributed as follows: NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES (2490억원), SamsungSecurities (2290억8000만원), and Shinhan Investment Securities (199억2000만원).
NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES recorded the highest performance in the first half of the year. Based on actual underwriting amounts, NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES took first place with a total of 349.5 billion won. This represents a sharp increase compared to the first half of last year (123.6 billion won).
The firm secured 2490억원 from Kbank alone, with additional deals including #DEOKYANG ENERGEN CORPORATION (375억원), #PIECE PEACE STUDIO Co., Ltd. (244억원), #Inventera Inc. (137억원), and #COSMO ROBOTICS CO., Ltd. (119억원). Including Poled Co., Ltd., the firm led the market with six deals, placing it among the top firms in both value and number of deals.
SamsungSecurities ranked second with 2906억원. The acquisition of Kbank for 2290억8000만원 accounted for the bulk of its performance. Added to this were 415억1250만원 from #CHAEVI CO., LTD, an electric vehicle charging infrastructure company, and 200억원 from #Justech, a company specializing in ultra-precision motion control. Although the number of deals it led was not high, the firm secured a significant volume of large-scale IPO offerings, forming a duopoly in IPO underwriting for the first half of the year alongside NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES.
KB Securities ranked third, with underwriting proceeds totaling 133.2 billion won. KB Securities secured 84 billion won by serving as the sole lead underwriter for #StradVision, the last company to go public in the first half of the year. It also added 41.5125 billion won from CHAEVI CO., LTD and 7.7 billion won from RecensMedical, Inc.
MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES, which ranked first in IPO proceeds during the first half of last year, came in fourth this year with 122 billion won. The firm led a balanced portfolio of small- and mid-cap IPOs, including #DEOKYANG ENERGEN CORPORATION (37.5 billion won), #MakinaRocks Co., Ltd. (33.59625 billion won), #AXBIS CO.,LTD. (26.5 billion won), and #PIECE PEACE STUDIO Co., Ltd. (24.4 billion won); however, its ranking fell compared to last year, when it took first place in the first half thanks to the LG CNS effect.
Korea Investment & Securities followed with 1161억원. Korea Investment & Securities led IPOs for #Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. (40 billion won), #IMBiologics Corp. (36.4 billion won), #HANPASS CO.,Ltd. (16.72 billion won), #ESteem Co., Ltd. (15.3 billion won), and RecensMedical, Inc. (7.7 billion won). Although it participated in five deals, the size of individual offerings was relatively small, resulting in a fifth-place ranking by value.
Shinhan Investment Securities recorded approximately 64.6 billion won. Although Shinhan Investment Securities was part of the Kbank underwriting syndicate, its actual underwriting share was limited to 4%, resulting in a Kbank underwriting amount of 19.92 billion won. This was supplemented by #MEZOO Co., Ltd. (29.1 billion won) and #IMBiologics Corp. (15.6 billion won), among others.
In addition, DaishinSecurities recorded 18 billion won, EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES 17.8 billion won, Hana Securities 13.8 billion won, HYUNDAI MOTOR SECURITIES 5.9 billion won, and Yuanta Securities Korea 1.3 billion won. DaishinSecurities participated in the CHAEVI CO., LTD. and HANPASS CO.,Ltd. IPOs; EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES in the COSMO ROBOTICS CO., Ltd. and Inventera Inc. IPOs; and Hana Securities as a joint lead manager for the CHAEVI CO., LTD. IPO.
Market observers believe that in an environment where major IPOs are scarce, a securities firm’s performance will inevitably hinge on whether it can secure one or two large deals. An IPO official at a securities firm stated, “In an environment where there aren’t many large public offerings, as was the case in the first half of this year, just one or two deals can significantly alter a lead underwriter’s performance,” adding, “The lead underwriter’s ability to select the right deals will become even more important.”