South Korea's initial public offering market is expected to reach its highest level in three years this year, as key affiliates of Samsung Group are set to go public, industry data showed Friday.

   So far this year, 31 newcomers on the main bourse and the tech-laden Kosdaq have raised a total of 1.08 trillion won ($981 million), according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.

   The expected increase will come on the back of several big-cap IPOs and ample liquidity in the local stock market.  

   Samsung SDS Co., a key IT unit of the country's largest conglomerate, made its market debut earlier in the day, with a market capitalization of 1.16 trillion won. Its sister firm Cheil Industries Inc., the group's de facto holding firm, is set to raise up to 1.5 trillion won through its IPO next month.

   The bourse operator said 19 firms have applied for IPOs, which could translate into this year's total reaching up to 4 trillion won, the highest since 2011 when Samsung Life Insurance Co., a key financial unit of Samsung Group, debuted on the market. In that year, IPOs amounted to 4.26 trillion won.

   The comparable figures for 2012 and 2013 were 1.01 trillion won and 1.31 trillion won. (Yonhap)