By Kim Jae-heun





Chung Tae-young, Hyundai Card CEO

Companies that were gearing up to hold initial public offerings (IPOs) this year are reassessing their options due to the turbulent local stock market which has been affected by a nosedive in the international oil price and the prolonged novel coronavirus situation here.



Hyundai Card, Big Hit Entertainment and Lotte Hotel are considering adjusting the dates of their firms' IPOs ― listings that were expected to vitalize this year's market.



Hyundai Card selected NH Investment & Securities and Citigroup Global Markets as its underwriters last November and had planned to discuss the time and procedure of the IPO as soon as they finished submitting documentation to investors.



However, the spread of the new coronavirus here has made the situation worse for card businesses. From February 1 to 23, the total amount of credit approved for personal credit cards plunged by 45 percent compared to the same period in the previous month.





Bang Si-hyuk, Big Hit Entertainment founder and CEO