Investors are rushing to snatch up initial public offerings (IPO) on the secondary Kosdaq market which is on its best bull run in a decade on high expectations for the new government’s agenda and support focus on small- and mid-sized and venture enterprises to wean the country away from an economy reliant on large and traditional industry.

Of the 13 IPOs worth 1.02 trillion won ($939 million) on the Kosdaq heavy with technology and bio stocks in November, 20 percent had been available to retail investors. The 204.9 billion won offering was oversubscribed by 100 times even after excluding blockbuster Jin Air by drawing 20 trillion won bids.

Studio Dragon drew 6.72 trillion won worth deposits during retail subscription on Nov. 16-17, which is stunning as this year’s $2.4 billion Netmarble Games Corp. IPO had garnered deposits worth 7.7 trillion won from retailers.

Optimal semiconductor parts maker Mecaro drew retail deposits of 4.4 trillion won. The heat spread to non-tech IPOs. Constructor Daewon and meat processor Cherrybro each drew over 1 trillion won deposits.

Market watchers advise investors’ discretion as they can be burned by reckless investment. Of 43 new entries on the Kosdaq, 10 stocks value double their IPO prices while 14 underperform theirs.

By Yoo Joon-ho and Lee Ha-yeon

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