[Special Report on Financial Industry]
The KB Financial Group is spurring overseas expansion through synergies among its bank, credit card and insurance affiliates.
The KB Financial Group is conducting a retail financial market survey to advance into Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, where demand for financial services is expected to grow rapidly with economic growth.
The group is studying a wide array of strategies to enter these countries, including the takeover of local financial firms.
KB Capital and KB Kookmin Card entered the local auto financing market in Laos by establishing KB KOLAO Leasing, a joint auto finance company with local companies with experience in the local market. The joint venture company is owned by KB Capital (51%), KB Kookmin Card (29%) and KOLAO Holdings (20%), a local company that imports, manufactures and sells automobiles and motorcycles. It began operations on March 20 of this year.
KB Capital and KB Kookmin Card are also expanding their business base and diversifying their portfolio by partnering with other local companies as well as KB KOLAO Leasing.
In addition, the KB Financial Group plans to make good use of its branches in Hong Kong, New York and London as outposts for its CIB business.
KB Kookmin Bank and KB Securities will focus on project finance (PF) investments in Asian markets and alternative investments and foreign exchange bonds (sales & trading) in developed countries. They will also collaborate in monitoring emerging markets to look for investment opportunities.
KB Securities' subsidiary in Hong Kong shared office space with KB Kookmin Bank’s Hong Kong branch in August 2017. KB Securities completed the acquisition of Maritime Securities in Vietnam in October 2017 and launched KB Securities Vietnam (KBSV) in January 2018.
KB Insurance also forged partnership with UIC, a local joint venture in Vietnam, laying the foundation for sales promotion and stable growth.
The KB Financial Group is focusing on improving its mid- to long-term global human resource development system as banks and non-banking affiliates need global talent in expanding their overseas presence.
The group is running global talent development programs, including overseas expert training programs, on-the-job training programs at overseas branches and at the Korea Desks at overseas banks with ties with the group. It also promotes the establishment of career development programs for efficient allocation of human resources.
"This year, KB Kookmin Bank will become a leading bank in Southeast Asia through an organic combination of strategies such as customized digital financial platforms, the development of global off-line infrastructure and the development of systematic global human resources," a KB Financial Group official said.
To this end, the KB Financial Group is running the group-wide Global CoP (Community of Practice) consisting of employees from affiliates including the bank, securities firm, insurer, and credit card company.
The Global Cop is a voluntary learning and research organization centered on employees who are interested in the global business. The program is a voluntary and steadily held meeting to discover new business ideas through sharing knowledge among employees and spread them throughout the group.
Its research areas include the Securities/CIB Department which explores alternative investments and plans for direct overseas advancement, the Consumer Finance Department to match local customer characteristics and boost convenience for customers, the Digital Payment Department such as digital remittance and payment and the Asset Management Department which studies how to cultivate global asset management capabilities. Through this program, employees can freely study countries and markets in which they are interested.