Paradise Co., an operator of foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, has announced that it has satisfied all criteria for a new listing evaluation. As a result, its stock will be transferred from KOSDAQ to the main KOSPI market.
The news was announced in a filing to the Korea Stock Exchange (KRX) on Monday.
The KOSPI Index is a capitalization-weighted index of all common shares on the KRX main board, while KOSDAQ is a trading board of KRX in South Korea, established in 1996 as an independent stock market by the Korea Financial Investment Association.
Paradise Co. initially submitted its preliminary listing application to the Korea Exchange’s Stock Market Division in April of this year and received approval on June 14th.
According to the Monday filing, the transfer will take place on June 24th, one week after receiving the green light.
Local media outlet NEWSIS reported that a Paradise official commented: “We are pleased with the meaningful outcome after submitting the preliminary examination application and communicating with the exchange and various market stakeholders. In the future, we will focus on consolidating our strengths, enhancing corporate value, expanding our institutional and foreign investor base, and maximizing shareholder value.”
Paradise Co. has been added to a list of firms subject to enhanced supervision by South Korea’s antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission.
According to South Korean law, conglomerates with assets exceeding KRW5 trillion ($3.68 billion) are classified as “large corporations” and must publicly disclose information regarding inter-affiliate transactions, their ownership structure, and key details about non-affiliated entities.
The company is a leading gaming operator in the country, managing three casino venues: Walkerhill in Seoul, Paradise Jeju on Jeju Island, and a property in Busan, a port city.
In addition, Paradise Co., in partnership with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc., manages the Paradise City resort located in Incheon.
