Kbank plans to go public, again

The Kbank office in central Seoul [KBANK]

Internet-only Kbank will go public this year, almost two years after scrapping a previous initial public offering (IPO) plan due to weak investor sentiment.

Kbank has launched the procedure to file for an IPO following the board's approval, the company said Friday. It will review potential underwriters for the deal.

The online lender passed the Korea Exchange's preliminary review for IPO in 2022 with a stated goal of completing the listing process within that year. But it decided to push back the date, citing the weak stock market in the post-pandemic period.

Kbank was established in 2016 and began operating in 2017. It first turned a yearly profit in 2021, but its on-year net earnings plunged 46 percent through the third quarter of last year.

The bank, which saw a surge of customers through its partnership with Upbit, Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has 9.53 million registered customers.

The bank increased its capital by a trillion won ($750 million) in 2021, promising investors that it would go public within five years. The fund infusion involved a drag-along provision, which empowers majority shareholders to force minority shareholders to join in the sale of a company.

Funds from the IPO will be used to “raise competitiveness” of the financial products and to innovate in the financial sector, Kbank said.

“The IPO will be an opportunity for Kbank to take another leap towards customers,” said Kbank CEO Choi Woo-hyoung in a statement. “Kbank will thoroughly prepare [the IPO] so that we, as well as all the constituents, can jointly grow.”

Shares of rival Kakao Bank are down around 70 percent from their peak in 2021, which was when the company went public.

Other companies under review for IPO this year include SSG.com, LG CNS, CJ Olive Young and SK ecoplant.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]