Shares of South Korean game developer Kakao Games Corp. surged by the daily permissible limit upon debut Thursday, landing in the top five on the Kosdaq with a market value of 4.6 trillion won ($3.9 billion).

The game developing unit of Korea’s largest mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. opened at 48,000 won ($40.5), double its initial offering price.

Shares closed the day at 62,400 won apiece, up by the daily 30-percent limit. Its market value stood at 4.57 trillion won, making it the fifth-largest stock on the tech-heavy Kosdaq.

Kakao Games raised about 384 billion won from the IPO. It drew 58.5 trillion won in retail orders, the largest in the country’s IPO history.

Its biggest shareholder is parent Kakao, which owns a 58.96 percent stake. Kakao`s stock gained 0.5 percent to 386,000 won.

Kakao Games posted an operating profit of 35 billion won on sales of 391 billion won last year. In the first half of 2020, it earned 28.7 billion won, up 63.7 percent from a year earlier.

The gaming company said it plans to use the IPO proceeds to bolster its lineup of new games. It currently has over 45 million monthly active users.

By Kim Hyo-jin

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