This article was published on May 13, 2025, at 2:34 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove website.
There are assessments that Hana Securities' presence in the initial public offering (IPO) market is fading. Excluding special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) mergers, it served as the underwriter for only two listings last year and has not been appointed for any this year.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 13th, Hana Securities has not received a single application for a preliminary review for listings in the 14 months since it applied for one from K3I, an extended reality (XR) content production company, in January last year.
Hana Securities' IPO business decline, which had handled at least seven underwriting tasks annually, began last year. During the 84 corporations that entered the stock market last year (excluding SPACs), Hana Securities was responsible for only two.
The decline last year stands out even more because Hana Securities participated as co-underwriter for major players in the securities market, APR and HD Hyundai Marine Solution, that applied for preliminary review in 2023. Hana Securities helped the domestic stock market with the entry of 9 corporations in 2020, 7 in 2021, 9 in 2022, and 7 in 2023.
Some interpret the sluggishness of the domestic stock market, along with the heightened listing requirements of the Korea Exchange, as a factor. However, even when considering the proportion of underwritten listings by Hana Securities compared to all listed corporations, the percentages were ▲2023 (7.95%) ▲2022 (12.32%) ▲2021 (7.36%) ▲2020 (8.91%) but dropped to 2.38% in 2024.
There are concerns in the industry that Hana Securities may be struggling overall, not just with its IPO business. An official from the IB industry noted, "I understand there are no particular issues within the IPO team," but added that "there have been frequent mentions of employees leaving the company due to a lack of long-term vision."
Another official from the IB industry said, "Hana Securities originally does not have a strong competitive edge in underwriting, so it may pursue a strategy focused on SPAC mergers, like IBK Securities," adding that "the IPO business alone may not be highly profitable, which could be why they are not putting in much effort."
A representative from Hana Securities stated, "Hana Securities focused on small to mid-sized IPOs along with SPACs, but the impact is significant as the market has contracted, making it difficult for these corporations to receive fair valuations," adding that "the level of personnel turnover is not significantly different from that of other securities firms."
The IPO operations at Hana Securities are led by Kwon Seung-taek, the Deputy Minister of the Equity Capital Markets (ECM) division. Deputy Minister Kwon joined the predecessor of Hana Securities, Boram Securities, in 1995 and has been working in Hana Securities' ECM field for 20 years this year.