K Bank OTC Stock Price Soars 50%... Valuation Reaches 6.7 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter So-yeon Park] The price of K-Bank's over-the-counter (OTC) shares surged sharply.

According to the Seoul Exchange OTC market on the 1st, K-Bank's shares were traded at 18,000 KRW on the 31st of last month, a 50% increase from the previous trading price of 12,000 KRW.

The total trading volume was 555 shares (approximately 10 million KRW). Applying this trading price to K-Bank's total issued shares, the company's valuation reaches about 6.7 trillion KRW.

A representative from the Seoul Exchange OTC market stated, "The second transaction is more meaningful as a general trade compared to the first transaction," adding, "Investor interest in K-Bank's OTC shares is growing recently due to KakaoBank's successful initial public offering (IPO)."

Meanwhile, recently, the US investment bank Morgan Stanley analyzed that the valuation of the internet-only bank K-Bank has exceeded at least 8 trillion KRW. Following KakaoBank's debut on the stock market on the 6th of last month, securing the position as the leading bank stock, K-Bank is planning to go public in 2023.

In a recent corporate analysis report on KT, Morgan Stanley stated, "The value of K-Bank has not yet been properly reflected in KT's stock price." Morgan Stanley added, "Interest in K-Bank's value has increased following KakaoBank's IPO," and evaluated, "Although K-Bank had a relatively slow start, its deposits exceeded 11 trillion KRW in the second quarter, rapidly narrowing the gap with KakaoBank." However, they mentioned, "It is necessary to expand loans, which are only around 5 trillion KRW, to balance the rapidly increasing deposits."

Morgan Stanley conservatively estimated K-Bank's corporate value at "8 trillion KRW." This is about 20% of KakaoBank's market capitalization (38.9107 trillion KRW) on the day. It is comparable to Viva Republica (approximately 8 trillion KRW), which owns Toss Bank as an affiliate.

K-Bank's largest shareholder is BC Card, a KT-affiliated credit card company, holding a 34% stake. Following are Woori Bank (12.68%) and private equity funds such as Bain Capital and MBK Partners, each holding more than 5% stakes as major shareholders.