S. Korea's OTC market value tops W20tr

The value of stocks traded on South Korea's over-the-counter (OTC) market has surpassed the 20 trillion-won mark ($18 billion) for the first time in over six years on a recent market rally, data showed Tuesday.

The capitalization of the K-OTC totaled 20.07 trillion won as of Monday, up some 215 billion won from the previous session, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA).

It marks the first time since Nov. 13, 2014, that the K-OTC's market value has exceeded the 20 trillion-won level.

At that time, the market achieved the landmark as the value of Samsung SDS Co., an IT service unit of Samsung Group, reaching nearly 42 trillion won ahead of its promotion to the main bourse.

As of Monday, 133 companies were traded on the K-OTC, up 18 from six years and five months earlier.

The K-OTC market is the venue for trading unlisted blue chips. In August 2014, KOFIA revamped the previous OTC bourse to animate trading by boosting safety and convenience in trading unlisted shares.

The OTC market has been brisk since last year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, the daily turnover of the K-OTC came to 1.28 trillion won, exceeding the 1 trillion-won mark for the first time since its inception in 2014.

SK Engineering & Construction Co. had the largest capitalization of 2.44 trillion won as of Monday, followed by Semes Co., a semiconductor and display manufacturing equipment unit of Samsung Group, with slightly over 2 trillion won and video game developer Netmarble Neo with 1.93 trillion won. (Yonhap)