Even SK Hynix beats… Coupang placed second in market cap right after debut in New York

With Coupang’s successful debut on the New York Stock Exchange, competition in the domestic e-commerce (e-commerce) market is expected to intensify. Naver and E-Mart have already formed a’anti-coupang alliance’ through cooperation, and Market Curly, an online food shopping mall, announced a policy to list the US stock market on the 12th.

Coupang shares closed at $49.25, a 40.7% increase from the public offering price ($35) on the 11th (U.S. local time), the first day of listing. Based on the closing price of the day, the market capitalization exceeded 100 trillion won, making it the second largest domestic company after Samsung Electronics (about 489 trillion won, as of the 11th). Initially, the company value was about 72 trillion won based on the public offering price, which was less than SK Hynix (about 99 trillion won), but it was beaten after a day of listing.

Not only are the market caps of Naver (61 trillion won) and Kakao (40 trillion won), which are domestic e-commerce strong, but E-Mart (4.9 trillion won), and Lotte Shopping (3.5 trillion won) are difficult to compare. Coupang’s next move, which loaded 5 trillion live ammunition at once with this listing, is inevitable for competitors to be tense.

Bum-seok Kim, Chairman of Coupang’s Board of Directors, mentioned Coupang’s future plans at a video conference with a local correspondent immediately after listing. Chairman Kim said, “We chose to list on the New York Stock Exchange for large-scale funding. However, we plan to invest the funds obtained here in Korea.” He also stressed, “As we have secured competitiveness through aggressive investments so far, we will continue to invest in innovating the logistics system in the future.”

Representative Park Dae-joon, who attended the meeting with Chairman Kim, added, “We plan to create more innovative services by hiring 50,000 additional people over the next five years and optimizing the nationwide distribution network.” In the listing declaration, Coupang said that it plans to invest about 1 trillion won to build distribution centers in 7 regions in Korea over the next few years. Chairman Kim reportedly emphasized to executives and staff members that, “Like the metropolitan area, rocket delivery should be carried out evenly in Busan and Jeju.” Currently, local delivery is not as fast as the metropolitan area due to a lack of logistics infrastructure.

Chairman Kim replied, “I have a desire to export K-commerce, but for the time being, I will focus on the domestic market and customers.” “The Korean commerce (retail) market is the world’s largest market with over 530 trillion won, and the e-commerce market is currently the 5th largest.” Explained. It is an analysis that it contains the flag that it will take not only domestic e-commerce but also the entire distribution market as the stage. In the listing declaration, Coupang suggested distribution, catering, travel, and advertising as possible markets in the future.

As of last year, the domestic e-commerce market is the third strongest with annual transactions of 30 trillion won for Naver, 22 trillion won for Coupang, and 20 trillion won for eBay Korea (G Market, Auction, G9). These three companies account for 43% of the e-commerce market share. The distribution industry expects that competition between Naver and Coupang to dominate the e-commerce market will intensify. Among these, the acquisition of eBay, which was recently sold on the market, is expected to act as a major variable.

Naver is taking a quick step. As early as next week, it plans to sign a stake exchange agreement with E-Mart worth 250 billion won. Last year, CJ Group signed a stake exchange alliance for 600 billion won. The industry expects Naver to supplement its weak point, the delivery and logistics network through CJ Logistics, and receive support for fresh food through E-Mart. Since each company gains synergy through alliances, an anti-Coupang solidarity is inevitably formed.

In addition, depending on who acquires eBay, which has an annual transaction amount of 20 trillion won, the e-commerce game can change as much as possible. The preliminary bidding date for the sale of eBay was set on the 16th. Major shareholders of Shinsegae, Lotte, and Homeplus, such as MBK Partners and Kakao, are mentioned as candidates for the acquisition. As an offline retailer, it is attractive because it can attract loyal customers and eBay’s online platform.

Small e-commerce companies are also in a hurry to prepare for listing in order to survive. Market Curly also announced plans to list the stock market within this year, while Timon completed a paid-in capital increase of 30.5 billion won last month and entered the stock market in earnest. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 12th, Kim Seul-ah, CEO of Market Curly, said, “We are discussing plans for listing within the year.” Reported. WSJ introduced Market Curly as a company worth about 880 million dollars (1 trillion won).

An official from Market Curly said, “We are considering leaving the possibility open for both the Korean and US stock markets.” He added, “The market is rapidly turning this year, including the listing of Coupang, the sale of eBay Korea, and cooperation with Naver and E-Mart.” 11st is planning to partner with Amazon to differentiate its competitiveness.

Kim Dong-hee, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, “With the listing of Coupang, the Korean e-commerce market is being evaluated upwards.” Fierce competition between companies will unfold.”

Reporters Baek Min-jeong and Lee Byeong-jun [email protected]