Shinhan Card Partners with Asia Auto, Kazakhstan's No.1 Car Company

Future Food Auto Finance Expansion Strategy
Accelerating Global Auto Finance Market Penetration

Shinhan Finance and Asia Auto announced on the 20th that they held a car finance partnership agreement ceremony at the Bipek Almaty headquarters in Kazakhstan. (From left) Oh Young-kyo, Head of Sales Division at Shinhan Finance; Ko Jae-man, Deputy Head of Corporation; Cheon Young-il, Head of Corporation; Dauren Baisenov, General Director of Bipek Auto Almaty; Adilya Karimova, Sales Head; and Daniel Shaifudinov, Sales Manager, are taking a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Shinhan Card announced on the 20th that its subsidiary in Kazakhstan, Shinhan Finance, has signed a car finance partnership agreement (MOU) with Asia Auto, the No.1 vehicle manufacturing and sales company in Kazakhstan.

The two companies held a partnership signing ceremony at the Vipek Almaty headquarters located in Almaty, Kazakhstan, attended by key personnel including Dauren Bipek, General Director of Vipek Almaty, and Cheon Young-il, Head of Shinhan Finance.

Shinhan Finance was established in November 2014 as Shinhan Card’s first overseas subsidiary. It currently handles retail loan products such as auto finance and credit loans, focusing on Kazakhstan’s three major cities: Almaty, Nur-Sultan, and Shymkent. As of the end of last year, it has grown to rank fifth among local retail loan finance companies with a cumulative transaction amount of 44.7 billion KRW, assets of 22.5 billion KRW, and net profit of 1.3 billion KRW.

Asia Auto is the largest automobile assembly and manufacturing company in Kazakhstan, assembling about 60% of vehicles in the country, and maintains the top sales volume through its own distribution network, Vipek Auto.

Through the agreement with Asia Auto, Shinhan Finance will prioritize financial products for certain new car models sold at Vipek stores and offer special interest rates and promotions to new car buyers. This is part of a strategy to expand auto finance and diversify its revenue portfolio.

A Shinhan Card official said, "Amid concerns over economic contraction due to the spread of COVID-19, we pursued this agreement to seize opportunities in the crisis and gain a market preemption effect," adding, "We plan to grow into a retail specialized financial company leading the retail loan market, including credit loans, in Kazakhstan."