(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's market for initial public offerings has been on fire in the third quarter, with record proceeds that are set to surpass Hong Kong's for the first time since 2017.
Firms selling shares in Seoul have raised about $10 billion since July 1, thanks to blockbuster IPOs like those of Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed game developer Krafton Inc. and KakaoBank Corp. That's about 73% higher than first-time share offerings in Hong Kong, with investor sentiment in Asia's financial hub hurt by China's corporate crackdown.
In fact, quarterly proceeds for Hong Kong were the lowest since the pandemic started as the Hang Seng Index plunged into a bear market in August. Firms going public in Korea have now raised almost $16 billion this year, already an annual record, largely from IPOs linked to the technology sector that have seen strong retail participation.
READ: Overlooked IPO Markets Are Suddenly Booming as China Deals Slow
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