[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] The Korea Exchange announced on the 28th that it has confirmed Kakao Pay's eligibility for listing on the KOSPI market following the preliminary review.
Kakao Pay is a payment and financial services company that was spun off from Kakao in April 2017 as a tech-finance (technology finance) specialized subsidiary. It started with payment and remittance services and has since launched financial services including investment, insurance, and loans.
In February last year, it launched Kakao Pay Securities services and is preparing to launch Kakao Insurance with the goal of obtaining full approval within the year.
Currently, Kakao holds a 55% stake as the largest shareholder. The second largest shareholder is Alipay Singapore Holding, an affiliate of China's Ant Group, holding 45%. Last year, on a separate basis, operating revenue was 245.6 billion KRW, and net loss was 17.2 billion KRW. The accumulated number of subscribers reached 36 million, with transaction volume totaling 67 trillion KRW.
Samsung Securities, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan are the lead underwriters, with Daishin Securities participating as a co-manager. Once Kakao Pay passes the preliminary listing review and proceeds with the public offering procedures such as submitting the securities registration statement, it is expected to be listed as early as August.
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