SK IE Technology makes lackluster market debut

Seoul (South Korea), May 11: Battery materials maker SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET) made a weak market debut on the main bourse Tuesday despite the huge market interest shown in its subscription last week.
As of 9:10 a.m., the subsidiary of refinery and battery firm SK Innovation Co. exchanged hands at 180,000 won (US$161.22), down 14.29 percent from its opening price of 210,000 won and lower than the previously expected daily ceiling of 273,000 won.
Its public offering price was 105,000 won per share.
The price fall set the company's market capitalization at 15.9 trillion won.
Liquidity remained high in the local stock market, with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) having closed the previous session at its all-time high.
In its two-day subscription period that ended April 29, SKIET drew a record 80.9 trillion won (US$72.2 billion) in deposits from retail investors, reflecting huge investor interest.
The amount surpassed the previous record set by SK Bioscience Co., which drew 63.6 trillion won from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO) in March.
Launched in 2019, SKIET supplies battery separators to major EV makers, including Tesla and Volkswagen, accounting for 26.5 percent of the global wet separator market.
Source: Yonhap