KB Kookmin Card has made inroads into the consumer loan service market in Southeast Asia since Lee Dong-chul took the top post in 2018. Photo supplied
Seoul-based consumer loan provider KB Kookmin Card Co Ltd said on April 27 that it had signed a deal to buy a controlling 50.99 per cent stake in Bangkok-based personal loan provider J Fintech Co Ltd for 650 million baht ($20 million).
This marks the first acquisition deal that allows a South Korean credit card company to enter the Thai financial market since the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
The deal is awaiting approval from the financial authorities in South Korea and Thailand. The credit card company expects it to be closed by the end of this year.
J Fintech is a financial subsidiary of mobile phone distributor Jay Mart Pcl. Engaging in the business of lending money under the brand “J Money”, collecting bad debt and writing off nonperforming loans, J Fintech recorded a 67 million baht net profit last year.
Jay Mart currently holds 95.65 per cent of shares in J Fintech. KB Kookmin Card will buy J Fintech’s newly issued shares.
“The deal will serve as a cornerstone for financial units under the umbrella of KB Financial Group, including KB Kookmin Bank, to enter into Thai market” the consumer lender said in a statement.
As Korea’s third-largest credit card company, KB Kookmin Card has made inroads into the consumer loan service market in Southeast Asia since Lee Dong-chul took the top post in 2018.
Last year, it signed a deal to acquire Indonesian lender PT Finansia Multi Finance.
KB Kookmin Card acquired Cambodia’s Tomato Specialized Bank for $10.80 in 2018 which became KB Daehan Specialized Bank Plc. It opened its first branch in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district on February 11, this year.
“Despite Cambodia’s rapid economic growth rate and financial market improvement, there is a lack of financial infrastructure . . . In order to promote more stable growth, we decided to open an offline face-to-face operation,” Korea JoongAng Daily quoted a company press release as saying.
A spokesman told the daily: “Ever since KB Kookmin Card established its Cambodia headquarters in September 2018, we quickly began turning a profit . . . The latest Cambodia operation will help start a new business like card sales sooner than we thought.”
KB Kookmin Card is a wholly owned arm of KB Financial Group Inc, South Korea’s largest banking group by total assets. Last year, the net profit of KB Kookmin Card rose 10.5 per cent year-on-year to 316.55 billion won ($260 million).
THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
