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The "Venture Capital Market Brief" is a monthly report of statistics compiled by the Korean Venture Capital Association, providing detailed, up-to-date figures on Korea's VC market. A full list of the reports can be accessed online at kvca.or.kr
Venture Capital Firms
■ In 2018, 20 firms were added while 8 firms were terminated, resulting in 133 firms in total as of December 2018.
Registration and Operation of VC
Investment Resources
■ The total amount raised by 146 venture capital funds established in 2018 was KRW 4.68 trillion. The number of funds in operation is 807, adding up to KRW 24 trillion.
Established
| Type | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | # of Funds | 82 | 108 | 120 | 164 | 146 |
| Amount | 26,180 | 26,205 | 36,792 | 46,087 | 46,868 | |
| In Operation | # of Funds | 447 | 529 | 605 | 718 | 807 |
| Amount | 120,458 | 140,954 | 169,473 | 204,416 | 240,078 | |
■ Of the members of the new funds in 2018, financial institutions accounted for the largest share (30.3%), followed by policy institutes (25.7%).
Share of Members of New Funds
(Unit: %)
New Investment
■ As of December 2018, KRW 3.42 trillion was invested into 1,399 firms, up 43.8% year-on-year (KRW 2.38 trillion by 1,266 firms) based on investment amount.
New Investment
Amount of New Investment by Industry
(Unit: KRW 100 M)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICT Manufacturing | 1,951 | 1,463 | 959 | 1,566 | 1,489 |
| ICT Services | 1,913 | 4,019 | 4,062 | 5,159 | 7,468 |
| Electric/Machinery/Equipment | 1,560 | 1,620 | 2,125 | 2,407 | 2,990 |
| Chemical/Materials | 827 | 1,486 | 1,502 | 1,270 | 1,351 |
| Bio/Medical | 2,928 | 3,170 | 4,686 | 3,788 | 8,417 |
| Video/Performance/Record | 2,790 | 2,706 | 2,678 | 2,874 | 3,321 |
| Game | 1,762 | 1,683 | 1,427 | 1,269 | 1,411 |
| Distribution/Service | 2,046 | 3,043 | 2,494 | 4,187 | 5,726 |
| Others | 616 | 1,668 | 1,570 | 1,283 | 2,077 |
| Total | 16,393 | 20,858 | 21,503 | 23,803 | 34,249 |
■ In terms of years in operation, investment in the late stage accounts for the largest share (36.5%), followed by the mid stage (34.8%), and the early stage (28.6%).
Share of New Investment by Time
Amount of New Investment by Time
(Unit: KRW 100M)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Stage | 5,045 | 6,472 | 7,909 | 7,796 | 9,810 |
| Mid Stage | 4,069 | 5,828 | 6,156 | 6,641 | 11,935 |
| Late Stage | 7,279 | 8,558 | 7,438 | 9,366 | 12,504 |
| Total | 16,393 | 120,858 | 121,503 | 123,803 | 34,249 |
■ By type of investment, preferred stock accounts for the largest share (54.9%), followed by common stock (17.4%)
Share of New Investment by Type
(Unit: %)
Amount of New Investment by Type
(Unit: KRW 100M)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common Stock | 3,297 | 4,226 | 4,437 | 5,458 | 5,958 |
| Preferred Stock | 6,103 | 8,786 | 10,398 | 10,529 | 18,794 |
| CB/BW | 3,276 | 3,272 | 2,823 | 2,881 | 3,553 |
| Projects | 2,681 | 2,471 | 2,427 | 2,749 | 2,517 |
| Others | 1,036 | 2,108 | 1,418 | 2,186 | 3,427 |
| Total | 16,393 | 20,858 | 21,503 | 23,803 | 34,249 |
Newly Listed on KOSDAQ
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # of IPO | 67 | 109 | 70 | 78 | 90 |
| # of VC companies | 33 | 60 | 36 | 40 | 47 |
| Share | 49.3 | 55.0 | 51.4 | 51.2 | 52.2 |
Source: Korean Venture Capital Association, “Dec 2018 Venture Capital Market Brief”
< < *The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of KOTRA > >