S.Korea's SKIET shares debut at double IPO price (updated)

SK IE Technology

11/05/2021 01:10

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    By Heekyong Yang and Scott Murdoch
    SEOUL/HONG KONG May 11 (Reuters) - South Korean battery
material maker SK IE Technology Co Ltd (SKIET)  361610.KS  saw
its stock debut on Tuesday at double its initial public offering
(IPO) price, amid rising expectations of electric vehicles (EVs)
displacing those powered by fossil fuel.
    SKIET's shares opened at 210,000 won, valuing the
manufacturer at about 15 trillion won ($13.44 billion).
    The listing comes as automakers worldwide increasingly add
and even replace traditionally powered cars in their line ups
with new-energy alternatives such as fully electric vehicles.
    SKEIT supplies separators, a key component in lithium-ion
batteries, to battery makers including SK Innovation Co Ltd
 096770.KS , Samsung SDI Co Ltd  006400.KS , LG Energy Solution
Ltd and Japan's Panasonic Corp  6752.T . Last year, revenue from
the component made up 56% of total sales, accelerating from 19%
in 2018.
    It priced its IPO last month at 105,000 won per share, the
top of its indicative price range.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MJ0BQ
    Last month, Chief Executive Rho Jae-sok said SKIET will use
money raised through the sale of new shares for capital
expenditure, with such spending topping 700 billion to 800
billion won annually for the next few years.
    SKIET operates factories in South Korea and China. In March,
it said it would spend about 1.13 trillion won building two
plants in Poland.
    
($1 = 1,116.4300 won)

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang in Seoul and Scott Murdoch in Hong
Kong; Additional reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Christopher
Cushing)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))