San Jin Food, listed on the NASDAQ at the end of the year... setting this year's IPO highest competition rate record

This year, the top three most competitive companies in the initial public offering subscription market are set to officially list on the KOSDAQ market on December 22. This traditional food company, leading the domestic fish cake industry for over 70 years, has officially begun trading on the stock market and has attracted significant attention in the public offering market.

Sanjin Food is a representative Korean seafood processing company that started as a small fish cake shop in Pungnyeo Market, Yeongdo, Busan, in 1953. Over the past more than 70 years, it has accumulated technology in the domestic fish cake manufacturing sector and has expanded its business scope from simple ingredients to high-end product lines and convenient home meal solutions. Recently, the company has strengthened consumer touchpoints by opening “fish cake baking shops” and experiential stores to enhance brand awareness.

The company currently exports products to 13 countries, especially in Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam, where it promotes localization strategies through directly operated fish cake baking shops. Its performance has shown steady growth, with sales reaching 84.6 billion KRW in 2023 and expected to reach 96.4 billion KRW in 2024. As of the third quarter of this year, sales have already reached 76.1 billion KRW, an increase of about 17% compared to the same period last year.

In the subscription for general investors prior to listing, the competition ratio was 3,224.76 to 1. This is the highest figure among corporate public offerings this year. Investors seem to have given positive evaluations of Sanjin Food’s stable profitability and trust as a traditional food company. The main underwriter for the listing is Daishin Securities, and the final public offering price was set at 7,600 KRW per share.

On the other hand, besides Sanjin Food, innovative medical device company Leavesmed also plans to list on the KOSDAQ in the same week. Leavesmed develops laparoscopic surgical instruments and surgical robots based on multi-joint technology, with an average annual sales growth rate of over 50% in recent years. The company will go public on December 24, with Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities serving as co-lead underwriters.

It appears that the year-end KOSDAQ market is vibrant, with companies from various industries—from traditional food companies rooted in manufacturing to cutting-edge medical device firms—joining the listing ranks. Future investor attention to the entire public offering market may continue, especially regarding whether small and medium-sized, core companies based on performance can earn trust through their post-listing performance.