Kbank to file for preliminary review for IPO, Hyundai Oilbank gains go-ahead

[Source: Kbank]

South Korea’s first app-based lender Kbank and refining major Hyundai Oilbank are proceeding with their original plans to go public this year despite IPO-dry and bearish market climate.

The mobile bank mostly under BC Card, a 70-percent owned unit of KT, with 34 percent and Woori Bank with 19.9 percent, has placed its IPO at the hands of NH Investment & Securities which is also its shareholder with 10 percent, JP Morgan and Citigroup Global Markets. Samsung Securities co-leads the IPO.

The bank is pursuing with the IPO despite the chain cancellation of other promising candidates and poor performance of its archrival Kakao Bank, whose stock is underperforming last year’s IPO price of 39,000 won, based on its earnings improvement.

Kbank is the country’s first internet-only lender launched in April 2017.

As of the end of May, Kbank has 7.72 million customers with 11.33 trillion won ($8.73 billion) in deposits and 8.49 trillion won in borrowings.

The bank last year delivered a net income of 22.5 billion won and successfully swung to a profit in both interest and non-interest divisions. In the first three months of this year, net income reached 24.5 billion won, already exceeding last year’s full-year revenue.

Securities companies estimate Kbank’s enterprise valuation at 6-8 trillion won upon listing. Kbank shares are trading 15,000 won on the over-the-counter market K-OTC, where unlisted company shares trade, with an estimated market cap of 5.6 trillion won.

Hyundai Oilbank under Hyundai Heavy Industries Group on the same day received a nod from the stock authority to go ahead with Kospi IPO. This is its third IPO attempt after it withdrew from its first and second IPO plan in 2012 and 2018, respectively.

The group’s holding entity HD Hyundai and specially related persons own the largest 74.1 percent stake, and Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco the second-largest 17 percent.

Last year, the company reported an operating profit of 565.3 billion won on sales of 20.32 trillion won.

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