Korea’s Thrunet Doubles on NASDAQ Debut

In another stunning Asian Internet IPO on NASDAQ, ADR shares of Korean Internet service provider Thrunet Co. Ltd closed the day at nearly 100 percent of the initial offering price.

Offering 10.1 million shares at an initial share price of $18, Thrunet (KOREA) rose to a high of $51 on the day and closed at $35.063. The ISP raised $181.8 million in the debut which the company says it will use to build on its infrastructure.

Thrunet benefitted in the market from having US software giant Microsoft Corp. as a shareholder. Microsoft took a 5 percent stake in the Korean ISP for US$10 million last month.

The company is the first Korean company to list on NASDAQ, the third Asian ISP to list on the US market after Singapore’s Pacific Internet (PCNTF), Internet Initiative Japan (IIJI) and India’s Satyam Infoway (SIFY), and the fifth Asian Internet IPO including the above ISPs and portal operator China.com Corp. (CHINA).

Thrunet has 91,000 subscribers while South Korea has over 4 million users surfing the Web. The country has one of the most dynamic Internet markets in the region with billions in online stock trading transactions, over 800 online shopping malls, and a progressive Internet advertising sector.

Yesterday, PacNet closed down 9.44 percent at $40.75 per share. Profit taking brought China.com down 17.89 percent closing at $105 after a two day climb of over 100 percent which was inspired by the Sino-US deal on the World Trade Organization.

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