Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
KDB Life gearing up to go public
KDB Life Insurance CEO Chung Jae-wook
By Jhoo Dong-chan
By Jhoo Dong-chan
KDB Life Insurance is gearing up to go public this year, a move separate from the Korea Development Bank's (KDB) plan to sell its insurance unit.
KDB acquired the formerly named Kumho Life jointly with Consus Asset Management in 2010, and has so far injected about 1 trillion won to keep the company afloat.
The state-run bank has attempted to sell the insurance outfit twice, once in 2014 and again in 2016, only to fail. Now its plans to list the insurer to reclaim its investment.
“We will choose an organizer for an initial public offering in the second half of the year,” KDB Life Insurance CEO Chung Jae-wook said.
“It will be better if we find anyone to acquire the firm, but that is unlikely anytime soon. KDB Life is preparing to go public separate from its plan to find a buyer.”
KDB owns a 92.73 percent stake in the insurance unit. Under related laws, minority shareholders should hold more than a 10 percent stake in a listed company.
The insurer said it will issue new shares to abide by the rule.
“It won't be a problem if we additionally issue about 10 million shares,” Jung said. “We will take the necessary steps before we go public.”
In a bid to turn KDB Life into profit, KDB Chairman Lee Dong-geol appointed Chung as the insurer's CEO last year. Chung has since conducted large-scale restructuring to make the company profitable.
KDB Life marked a 76.1 billion won ($64.6 million) loss in 2017, but managed to post a 6.4 billion net profit last year under Chung's leadership. The insurer is also likely to continue its earnings trend in the first half of the year.
The insurer's cash reserves have also improved over the year.
KDB Life's risk-based capital ratio was 108.4 percent in 2017, falling short of the government's minimum recommendation of 150 percent. However, it managed to raise the ratio to 215.03 percent last year.