JB Financial Group is entering Central Asia's financial market by investing in local financial companies in Kyrgyzstan, part of a push to broaden its global business and secure new growth drivers.
JB Financial said on the 22nd that its affiliate JB Woori Capital signed an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Epoque Co., the parent company of Kyrgyz financial firms Korkikredit and Korkileasing. Once licensing procedures are completed this year, the two companies will become wholly owned subsidiaries of JB Woori Capital.
The acquisition would give JB Financial Group its fifth overseas base, after Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia. In August, JB Woori Capital won approval from Indonesian financial regulators to acquire a specialized credit finance company there.
JB Woori Capital is betting on Kyrgyzstan's rapid economic growth and young population. About 70% of the country's people are in their 30s or younger, and real gross domestic product has recently been expanding at an annual rate of more than 10%. The company expects those traits to generate significant strategic synergy with JB Financial Group.
JB Woori Capital aims to establish itself quickly in the local market by drawing on the expertise it has built in auto financing in South Korea. Over the medium to long term, it plans to diversify a business structure centered on retail lending and broaden its revenue base.
"This acquisition is a strategic decision to expand our financial network beyond Southeast Asia into Central Asia," an official at JB Financial Group said. "Based on our competitiveness in auto financing and our localization strategy, we will establish ourselves in the Kyrgyz market and build a foundation for sustainable growth."