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| Seen above is Hyundai Motor Securities' headquarters in Seoul. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Securities |
By Lee Min-hyung
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| Hyundai Motor Securities CEO Choi Byung-chul |
Choi served most of his career at a finance division of Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts manufacturing affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group. He was the chief financial officer at the company and also took on the same role at Hyundai Motor from 2016 before being named the head of the securities arm of the group in 2020.
His top management priorities are business portfolio diversification and stable risk management, with a view to achieving sustainable growth and turning the company into one of the major securities firms here.
He was made chief of the company in March this year amid hopes he would stabilize its financial status and keep driving solid growth. All eyes are on whether he will be able to extend the firm's upward momentum in earnings after it generated record annual earnings in 2018 and 2019.
In the first three months of this year, the company reported its second-largest quarterly net profit of 24.6 billion won, up 20.7 percent from last year. The achievement is noteworthy in that most securities firms reported a steep decline in their earnings during the same period in the aftermath of the global pandemic shock.
Choi is expected to place stability over drastic change while leading the company. For stable management, he will focus on finding potential risk factors, while at the same time enhancing competitiveness in each of its business areas.
He is also under pressure to continue the firm's winning streak, as his predecessor Lee Yong-bae helped drive record profits for the past two years. Lee maintained a conservative investment philosophy by managing risk in detail amid widening financial volatility here and abroad.
Choi is also expected to follow a similar path to Lee, widening sources of revenue particularly via alternative investments.
Alternative investments are one of the key growth drivers of Hyundai Motor Securities. The company is seeking to find a niche market for these with a focus on the new overseas renewable energy sector.
Choi is spearheading the company's plan to invest in a solar light power generation project in Poland.
This is in line with its aggressive drive under which the firm invested 15 billion won in wind power generation in Germany in 2019. It also invested 50 billion won in sunlight investment funds in the United Kingdom.
"Finding alternative sources of investment will be even more important for securities firms amid prolonged low interest rates and sluggish economic growth here," an industry source said. "Against the backdrop, Hyundai Motor Securities' drive to diversify its revenue streams via alternative investments is a step in the right direction."
The company is also eyeing expansion in areas ― such as logistics centers ― to generate stable sources of profit from leasing the premises it acquires.
It will further tighten its risk management, as the unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 has deepened uncertainties in the global financial market.
One weak side of Choi is his lack of experience in the securities industry. But the company believes Choi is the most-qualified figure to lead the firm due to his excellent understating of the global financial environment.
To clear any concerns about Choi's experience, a company representative stated that that the CEO's predecessor also did not have experience in working at securities firms but nevertheless drove it to record earnings.
