Internet-only Kbank revives IPO ambitions

[Courtesy of Kbank]

South Korea’s Kbank is once again looking to go public after its unsuccessful attempt two years ago. The Kbank board reached a resolution to pursue a listing, the bank said in an announcement on Thursday.

The internet-only bank expressed its intent for an initial public offering (IPO) in January 2022 and prepared for a Kospi listing after passing a preliminary examination in September that year. But due to a stagnant IPO market caused by downturns, the plan was abandoned in February 2023 following an assessment that it would be difficult to receive proper corporate value recognition.

The decision to revive the IPO plan is based on the assessment that the IPO market has entered a recovery phase in 2024.

Kbank’s offering price range is directly influenced by the stock price of KakaoBank Corp., another internet-only bank in Korea. KakaoBank’s stock hit a low in the 10,000 won range in October 2022 after Kbank passed its preliminary examination, but has since rebounded, closing at 28,500 won ($21.25) on Thursday.