Ant-Backed Payments Firm Kakaopay Jumps on Market Debut in Seoul

South Korea’s technology industry continues to spawn big public companies, despite concerns that a government crackdown could hurt profits.

On Wednesday, mobile-payments specialist Kakaopay Corp. became the latest to join the stock market after a heavily oversubscribed $1.3 billion share sale. The stock more than doubled in morning trading in Seoul, compared with its initial public offering price, giving Kakaopay a valuation of nearly $21 billion.