Netmarble Games last week arrived on the Korean main bourse in a great fanfare as the biggest Korean initial public offering in seven years, but the IPO party in Korea has just begun as the calendar on the secondary Kosdaq brims with potentially blockbuster names.

Next candidate of a new kid on the block is Jeil Holdings, a holding company of Harim Group. Korea Exchange held its committee last Thursday and approved the IPO of Jeil Holdings. Jeil Holdings is due to submit a securities registration statement this week and aims to complete the IPO next month after book building and public offering of new securities. Jeil Holdings is estimated to be worth more than 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) with significant earnings improvement of its subsidiaries last year. Jeil Holdings controls six listed companies - Pan Ocean, NS Shopping, Harim Holdings, Farmsco, Harim and Sunjin.

Celltrion Healthcare, a distributor of biologic medicines, is preparing to go public on the Kosdaq market. It had scheduled to submit a securities registration statement in March but the plan was virtually suspended due to a precision audit on its accounting reports by a group of public accountants. The company said it will complete the IPO by September after the ongoing audit. Celltrion Healthcare is estimated to be worth some 5 to 6 trillion won.

Tissue Gene, a biotech company worth 2 trillion won, is expected to submit an application for a preliminary IPO review as early as in the first half. Tissue Gene is developing a novel drug to treat patients with degenerative arthritis. L&P Cosmetics is expected to resume its IPO process sometime in June, which was delayed due to China`s retaliatory measures against South Korean companies in the wake of a missile defense system deployed on the Korean Peninsula. The company is valued at more than 2 trillion won.

CJ Healthcare, a spin-off from CJ CheilJedang in 2014, plans to re-pursue IPO this year. Market watchers say the company is very likely to go public on the Kosdaq within this year given market conditions. CJ Healthcare launched the plan from early last year, but suspended it until its market value improves. Its worth is estimated at around 1 trillion won.

By Song Gwang-sup

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