[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] SamsungSecurities is leading the pack in initial public offering (IPO) underwriting this year, with MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES and NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES hot on its heels. With IPO schedules concentrated toward the end of the year, the rankings in the middle to upper tiers could shift depending on performance over the remaining two months. Korea Investment & Securities and DaishinSecurities have also secured several upcoming IPOs, so the final stretch of the performance race among securities firms is expected to intensify.

Based on securities issuance performance reports disclosed on the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 1st, a tally of underwriting amounts by securities firm for companies going public on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ from the start of this year through the 30th of last month (including both lead and co-lead underwriting as well as participation in underwriting syndicates, based on companies that have completed their listings) showed that SamsungSecurities led with 454.1 billion won. MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES followed with 378.9 billion won, and NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES with 349.5 billion won. KB Securities recorded 258.9 billion won, Korea Investment & Securities 191.5 billion won, and DaishinSecurities 168.9 billion won.

SamsungSecurities is maintaining its lead based on the 229.1 billion won secured from Kbank. It also added earnings from Ingenia Therapeutics (60 billion won), CHAEVI CO., LTD (41.5 billion won), and Ellis (40.2 billion won). By adding 21 billion won from Creates, which went public that day, it increased its cumulative underwriting amount to the 450 billion won range.

MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES secured 160.9 billion won from Ellis and built on its performance with deals involving Gido Industries, DEOKYANG ENERGEN CORPORATION, and MakinaRocks Co., Ltd. With the recent listing of IntelliVix adding 22.5 billion won, the gap with SamsungSecurities stands at approximately 75.2 billion won. NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES recorded a cumulative total of 349.5 billion won, including 249.0 billion won from the Kbank acquisition.

In terms of the number of underwriting deals, MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES led the top six firms with nine deals. SamsungSecurities and Korea Investment & Securities each handled eight deals, KB Securities and DaishinSecurities each handled seven, and NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES handled six. Deals in which a firm participated as a co-lead manager or as part of an underwriting syndicate were also counted as one deal each toward each securities firm’s total.

However, with IPO schedules concentrated toward the end of the year, the current rankings could easily shift depending on the scale of the remaining IPOs and whether they are listed before the year’s end. Since large-scale IPOs are rare, securities firms that have secured multiple small- and mid-sized IPOs have significant potential to build up their performance and catch up to the top firms.

For MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES, SFA Engineering Corporation is the key upcoming IPO. By underwriting 75% of the total offering volume, the firm could add 118.5 billion won to its underwriting results based on the lower end of the target price range. Including BaroPharm and Adel, the cumulative underwriting amount by year-end is estimated at approximately 540.3 billion won.

SamsungSecurities also has IPOs remaining for Dongwon Parts, Adel, and Xenon. Including its participation in the SFA Engineering Corporation underwriting syndicate, its cumulative underwriting volume is expected to reach approximately 555.4 billion won. If all these IPOs are completed by year-end, the gap between SamsungSecurities and MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES will narrow from the current approximately 75.2 billion won to about 15.2 billion won.

Korea Investment & Securities is expected to close the gap through several small- and mid-cap IPOs. When the underwriting performance for Younggwang, Nex-i, Optronics, C&M, InnoBo Therapeutics, InterX, and SFA Engineering Corporation—as a joint lead manager—is added, the cumulative underwriting amount will increase to approximately 440.9 billion won. This is enough to move the firm up from its current 5th place to 4th. In particular, Optonics has set its offering price at 12,000 won—the upper end of its target range—allowing Korea Investment & Securities to secure 26.4 billion won in underwriting revenue.

NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES’ cumulative underwriting volume is estimated at approximately 442.8 billion won when including LabUp, J&TG, and ANH Structure. With the projected year-end gap between the two firms standing at just 1.9 billion won, the third-place position could also shift depending on the results of upcoming IPOs.

DaishinSecurities is also aiming to climb the rankings through year-end IPOs. Following the listings of TSE CO.,Ltd. and Melcon in October, it has secured follow-up IPOs for EST, Yeonggwang YKMC, AL Robot, J&TG, and Davio. For J&TG, DaishinSecurities is handling 75% of the offering volume, which could add approximately 85.1 billion won in underwriting revenue based on the lower end of the target price range. Taeseok Optics is also listed as a company scheduled for an IPO in the fourth quarter, so attention is focused on whether Daishin Securities will secure additional underwriting revenue from this deal.

An IPO industry official stated, “Since there are no clear ‘big fish’ in the pipeline, cumulative underwriting performance through the fourth quarter will vary significantly depending on which firm secures the most small- and mid-cap IPO mandates,” adding, “On the other hand, if the price is set below the lower end of the indicative price range during the bookbuilding process, the total underwriting amount could drop significantly, potentially preventing firms from meeting their projected performance targets and climbing the rankings.”

Meanwhile, the year-end projections are calculated using the confirmed offering price for companies that have finalized their prices and the lower end of the target price range for those that have not. These figures are based on the assumption that the companies will list within the year while maintaining the scheduled volume and underwriting share of subsequent offerings. If the bookbuilding results show the offering price falling below the lower end of the target range or if the schedule is pushed into next year, the final results will also change.