What is XTock?
Today, with the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the importance of venture start-up companies that develop and apply new innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet and mobile has been emphasized once again and the investment of venture capital in these related technology start-ups is expanding rapidly with tremendous growth. In 2016, the global venture capital market was estimated at $127 billion. Over the past three years, the annual market size has been more than $100 billion, about double the amount invested between 2010-2013. The countries that make up the largest share are the US and China, reaching $71.8 billion and $31 billion, respectively.
Although the size of the global venture investment market is growing every year, it is possible to raise capital by issuing debentures or issuing additional unlisted shares, for the initial companies that require continuous financing and the companies with high growth potential. However, there are also limitations and difficulties in doing so. The OTC markets such as the NYSE, NASDAQ, Japan’s TSE, and Korea’s KOSDAQ, have an intrinsic characteristic that it is a market for trading stocks of unlisted companies. It has the disadvantage of low liquidity and transparency. Most of the off-the-shelf equity investments are made through private brokers, and transaction details are not exposed as public information because trading partners are trading in a P2P format. This is accompanied by the risk of credit, and the damage caused by inconsistencies. In the US, since the early 20th century, companies such as the OTC Markets Group have operated a platform for trading these off-the-shelf stocks, and companies such as Robinhood have been following the genealogy. In Korea, the Korea Financial Investment Association establishes and operates a system for brokering the quotation of stocks under the name of K-OTC. It also provides OTC stock information on an online site `38 Communications`, provides information on OTC companies, and operates online Communities for shareholders.
In order for the sale of OTC stocks to take place in the market, OTC companies must register with the Korea Financial Investment Association. It is difficult to obtain information on initial start-ups other than those with high performance, and the reliability of information acquired through the OTC stock community is questionable. So investors are unable to rely on the accuracy of information and this is a great risk to consider. From the perspective of companies, companies attract investors through over the counter investment sites. In reality, it is difficult to directly convey investment-related information to highly potential investors who have high acquisition costs. . In order to support the OTC market, demand for research and analysis through government-affiliated research institutes and companies is steadily increasing, but progress is still difficult due to lack of reliable information. If the production, sharing, and exchange of accurate information on OTC stocks can be made transparent, investors can continue to invest in stocks based on accurate information. This will make it possible for companies to raise funds.