yunhap news-Coupang, a domestic online shopping mall company, officially announced its listing on the US stock market. It has been 10 years since Coupang founder Kim Bum-seok, Chairman of Coupang’s board of directors, said in 2011 that he will “list on the NASDAQ in the US and leap to the world” in 2011.
◇ Last year’s sales doubled to 13 trillion ↑, the deficit narrowed… Aiming to strengthen online market competitiveness
Coupang announced on the 12th (local time) that “the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has submitted a report for listing of Class A common stock.”
The story of Coupang’s listing on the U.S. stock market was first made public in 2011 by Coupang Chairman Kim Bum-seok at the 1st anniversary of Coupang. Afterwards, in October 2019, Kevin Wash, a former Fed director, who was mentioned as a candidate for the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve System (Fed), was recruited as Coupang, fueling the possibility of preparation for listing on the US stock market.
Coupang, who had revealed that “when the appropriate time comes, we will push for an IPO”, has decided that the online market is the right time due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) last year.
The S-1 report filed by Coupang to the US SEC on that day included Coupang’s performance last year. Last year, Coupang’s sales amounted to 11,176 billion dollars (about 13.26 trillion won). This is an increase of 91% from 7 trillion won in 2019.
Coupang is considered the largest beneficiary of the COVID-19 outbreak among online shopping malls thanks to the only infrastructure that can deliver next-day delivery nationwide last year. The size of the deficit was $474.9 million (about 525.7 billion won), down by about 150 billion won from 7205 billion won in 2019.
Although the cumulative deficit is still reaching several trillion won, it is showing that the deficit is steadily decreasing with the peak in 2018.
The fact that the investment enthusiasm in the US IPO market has not subsided this year, following last year, seems to be the background for promoting the listing now.
If Coupang succeeds in listing, it is expected that it will continue to make aggressive investments that have been made so far through large-scale financing.
Coupang, which started as social commerce in 2010, has established itself as a unique presence in the domestic e-commerce industry by introducing’Rocket Delivery’, a fast delivery service using direct purchase and its own delivery personnel.
Coupang has invested 3 billion dollars (about 3 trillion won) from Japan’s Softbank and has made bold investments in the logistics infrastructure necessary for’rocket delivery’. The aggressive investment strategy brought top-line growth, but on the other hand, it also contributed to the snowballing of the deficit.
In order to overcome this situation and continue to expand investment, the prospect of raising additional funds through listing on the US stock market has been steadily raised.
Bum-seok Kim, founder of Coupang. yunhap news–◇ The Wall Street Journal of the US and the Financial Times of the UK “Coupang valued at over 55 trillion won
After listing, there are observations that Coupang’s corporate value will exceed at least 30 trillion won. Some foreign media are also forecasting that it will exceed 50 trillion won. Earlier, in May 2014, the company’s corporate value has increased by at least 30 times in 7 years since it was designated as Korea’s No. 1 “Unicorn” (a company with an enterprise value of 1 trillion won or more).
Last month, Bloomberg News evaluated Coupang’s corporate value at 30 billion dollars (about 33 trillion won). The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Coupang’s valuation is expected to exceed $50 billion (about 55 trillion won), and the British Financial Times (FT) is also expected to receive a market value of more than $50 billion by listing on the New York Stock Exchange. He reported that he expected.
Coupang’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange is known as’CPNG’. The number of listed shares or the offering price has not yet been determined. The securities industry predicts that Coupang will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as soon as possible within one quarter, unless there are unexpected variables.
If Coupang’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange is successful, large-scale financing is expected. This is expected to lead to more aggressive business and investment.
Coupang received a total investment of 3.4 billion dollars (about 3.5 trillion won) from Softbank’s Vision Fund. Additional investment has been cut off since 2018, and in the third quarter of last year, Softbank Chairman Son Jeong-eui announced the return of the investment (exit).
If Coupang is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, it will be possible to raise large-scale business financing, and there are many prospects that it will receive strength from investments such as new businesses. In particular, it is said that it will further strengthen Coupang’s strengths such as logistics and delivery services.
Coupang has more than 150 distribution centers in 30 cities in Korea. It is known that there are more than 13,000 people related to delivery directly hired by Coupang.
In a report last year, Mirae Asset Securities predicted, “Coupang’s competitiveness in the online market will continue to increase,” and “Coupang’s additional funding and listing are all possible.”
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