A data centre provider has plunged more than 30pc on its stock market debut, fuelling fears of an AI slowdown.
South Korea’s Elice Group, which provides data centre capacity to thousands of tech customers, suffered the shares flop when it started trading on the country’s tech-focused Kosdaq index on Tuesday.
Shares fell by as much as 38pc before closing down at 63,600 won (£35.90), having been floated at 90,500 won.
The slide cast a shadow over South Korea’s benchmark index, the Kospi, which closed down 4.2pc overnight. Some of the world’s largest AI companies including Samsung and SK Hynix are listed on the index.
Elice’s embarrassing stock market debut highlights growing fears about the value of AI companies.
The £20bn Australian float of Firmus, a data centre group, was scrapped last week after investors baulked at its valuation.
Aitrunk, another AI data centre provider based in Singapore, has also delayed its float amid fears of a similar fate, while shares in US-based Coreweave have also slid recently.
Ke Yan, an analyst at Singapore-based Shenton Research, said Elice’s fall showed investors were becoming more sceptical about AI groups.
He said: “Elice’s debut shows the AI infrastructure trade has moved from ‘build at any cost’ to ‘who is paying and for how long.’”
South Korea’s Kospi has fallen by about a third from the record high it reached in June.