[Market Focus] KakaoBank Hits Record High on News of Thai Virtual Banking License

KakaoBank is showing strong performance in early trading.

As of 9:02 a.m. on June 20, KakaoBank was trading at 31,900 won, up 13.52% (3,800 won) from the previous day. During intraday trading, the stock soared to 32,000 won, setting a new 52-week high.

Investor sentiment was boosted by news the previous day that KakaoBank had obtained a virtual banking license from the Thai government. This marks the first case of a Korean bank re-entering Thailand since Korean banks withdrew from the country during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. After a year of preparation, the company plans to officially begin operations in the second half of next year.

Prior to entering Thailand, KakaoBank had already expanded into Indonesia. Based on its partnership with Grab, Southeast Asia's largest super app and IT platform, KakaoBank made an equity investment in the Indonesian digital bank "Superbank," which is currently reported to have secured over 3 million customers.

Meanwhile, on the same day, KakaoBank published its "2024 Sustainability Management Report" and declared its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. In accordance with TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) standards, KakaoBank has established plans to reduce carbon emissions and aims to bring the net total of greenhouse gases emitted and removed to zero by 2045.