Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
KB Kookmin Card accelerates expansion in Southeast Asia
KB Kookmin Card CEO Lee Dong-cheol, fourth from left, cuts a ribbon with other Korean and Cambodian financial authority officials at the opening ceremony for the card firm's branch in Phnom Penh's district of Sen Sok, Monday. / Courtesy of KB Kookmin Card
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
KB Kookmin Card said Monday its Cambodian subsidiary opened a new branch in Sen Sok, Phnom Penh, as part of efforts to boost its presence in the Southeast Asian country.
Sen Sok is a vibrant district in the capital, where large-scale commercial and residential development projects are under way.
The card firm established its Cambodian subsidiary KB Daehan Specialized Bank in September 2018 after taking over Tomato Specialized Bank in April that year.
The subsidiary posted a 200 million won net profit in the third quarter of last year, just 10 months after its launch. KB is focusing on mortgages and auto loans there, and plans to launch a credit card business.
“Based on the expansion of our local sales network in Cambodia, we will seek continued growth in our existing mortgages and auto loans business and accelerate efforts to stabilize new businesses, including a credit card business we plan to launch,” a KB Kookmin Card official said.
KB Kookmin Card has four outlets in Southeast Asia ― in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. It is set to launch a subsidiary soon in Indonesia after signing a deal in November to acquire a local credit finance company, PT Financial Multi Finance.
Korean card firms are in a battle to gain market share in the fast-growing region as they face limitations in the mostly saturated domestic market.