[Edaily Reporter KIM YOON JI ] As data center infrastructure company #Elice saw its stock price fall on its first day of trading, foreign media also took note, interpreting the move as a sign that concerns over AI investments are reigniting.
Elice, which went public on the 20th, closed trading on the KOSDAQ market at 60,500 won, down 33.15% from its initial public offering (IPO) price of 90,500 won. During the session, the stock fell as low as 56,500 won. According to Bloomberg, among Korean IPO companies that raised more than $100 million (approximately 132.6 billion won) in public offerings, Elice’s first-day stock performance was the worst on record.
Reuters highlighted Ellis’s plunge and likened the South Korean stock market to a “canary in a coal mine.” This implies that the slump in the South Korean stock market could serve as a warning sign foreshadowing the risks of the global AI investment boom.
Bloomberg noted that this sharp stock decline has poured cold water on Asian stock markets, which had been showing signs of recovery, while also reigniting concerns about neo-cloud companies. This is because investors’ appetite for risky assets is weakening amid rising borrowing costs and growing doubts about the profitability of massive AI investments.
Shares of U.S. AI cloud provider CoreWeave have fallen by more than half from their peak in May, and the prices of the company’s corporate bonds also plummeted last week.
Australia’s Permagrid withdrew its planned IPO due to concerns over its valuation. Data center operator AirTrunk is postponing its listing plans, and Enscale has also faced investor backlash over its target valuation, Bloomberg reported.

Albert Yong, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Petra Capital Management, said, “Ellis went public at a time when investor sentiment toward AI infrastructure companies had weakened, particularly in the U.S. market,” adding, “Investor sentiment toward AI infrastructure is highly volatile and often moves independently of a company’s fundamentals.”
Bloomberg noted that the South Korean government’s consideration of measures to tighten scrutiny of new listings also weighed on the stock price. South Korean authorities are reviewing whether the U.S. IPO being pursued by Solidim, a subsidiary of SK hynix(000660), constitutes a so-called “dual listing.”
Some argue that such transactions could disadvantage existing parent company shareholders as the subsidiary seeks separate market recognition of its corporate value. This controversy is adding another layer of uncertainty for companies seeking to raise capital through the capital markets.