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Three out of every four companies newly listed on South Korean stock markets have their headquarters in the Greater Seoul area — encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon — according to new data. The concentration has grown over the past decade, pushing up the share of Greater Seoul-based firms among all listed companies.

Corporate data research firm CEO Score compared the registered headquarters locations of all Kospi and Kosdaq-listed companies as of end-2016 and end of July, finding that 661 of the 877 firms newly listed over the past 10 years — or 75.4% — were headquartered in the Greater Seoul area. Seoul accounted for 327 of those firms and Gyeonggi Province for 300.

The concentration of new listings in Greater Seoul has reshaped the overall distribution of listed companies. As of end of July, 1,827 of the 2,554 total listed firms — 71.6% — were based in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province or Incheon, up 1.8 percentage points from 69.8% of 1,898 companies at end-2016.

The shift was driven primarily by new listings rather than by existing companies relocating. Over the past decade, 29 listed firms moved their headquarters from Greater Seoul to regional areas, while 25 moved in the opposite direction. Analysts say the far greater factor was that most newly listed companies chose Greater Seoul as their base from the outset.

The share of listed companies based outside Greater Seoul declined across most regions. The combined share of Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province fell 1.5 percentage points to 8.1% from 9.6% in 2016, while Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province slipped 0.7 percentage points to 4.8%. The Daejeon-Chungcheong-Sejong region edged up 0.7 percentage points to 10.7%, and the Gwangju-South Jeolla-North Jeolla region gained just 0.1 percentage points to 2.9%.

Within Greater Seoul, the center of gravity has shifted somewhat from Seoul proper toward Gyeonggi Province and Incheon. Seoul's share of all listed companies dipped 1.2 percentage points to 37.5% (957 firms) from 38.7% (734 firms) in 2016, while the combined Gyeonggi Province-Incheon share rose 3 percentage points to 34.1% (870 firms) from 31.1% (591 firms).

High real estate prices in Seoul are pushing companies toward business clusters on the outskirts of the metropolitan area in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon. Over the past decade, 82 of the newly listed Gyeonggi Province firms were based in Seongnam and 39 in Hwaseong, reflecting a concentration of new listings in the southern part of the province where business clusters have formed around Pangyo and Dongtan.

Within Seoul, Gangnam-gu recorded the largest increase in listed companies, growing by 62 firms to 266 from 204 in 2016. Gangseo-gu, home to the Magok industrial complex, was next, followed by Songpa-gu and Yongsan-gu.


kacew@heraldcorp.com