Listed firms cut rights issues in 2011

Rights offerings by South Korea's listed companies dropped nearly 10 percent in 2011 from a year earlier mainly due to a flagging stock market, data showed Tuesday. The value of rights issues by 226 listed firms reached 13.9 trillion won (US$12 billion) last year, down 9.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). A raft of companies led by securities firms opted to increase their capital last year following the financial regulator's approval to set up prime brokerages in South Korea. However, other companies were reluctant to increase capital through new share offerings due to the slumping global economy, leading to the overall decline, the KSD said. Rights offerings by companies listed on the main bourse inched up 5.9 percent last year, while share sales by those registered with the secondary market nosedived 57.3 percent, according to the data.