Hyundai Securities to Enter Eastern European Market
By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
The chameleon is well-known for its ability to change colors to protect itself from its enemies. It can survive in the jungle with such a unique ability to adjust itself to various circumstances.
Hyundai Securities is often compared to the reptile, as it has an edge over its peers in weathering crises by adjusting itself to new challenges. Whenever there is a crisis, it has tried to overcome it instead of avoiding it.
The company set its motto for the year with old Chinese idiom ``Eung Hyung Moo Goong,'' which means people should adjust to new circumstances to survive and win.
Under it, Hyundai will focus on diversifying businesses and overseas markets in which it has the most branches among local firms with seven offices at the international level. It was also the first to advance into China.
Every branch has its own strong point. For example, the Shanghai office specializes in real estate project financing and pre-IPO, or initial public offering, evaluations, while the Ho Chi Minh branch is strong on M&A advice and restructuring businesses. The Almaty, Kazakhstan branch focuses on advice on bonds and helps Hyundai Group, which aims to expand its business there.
Hyundai plans to reach other emerging markets, such as India, Indonesia, Russia, Cambodia, Mongolia and Eastern European countries. It plans to open securities or asset management businesses there with aggressive localization, and is looking to invest in real estate and commodities directly or through investment funds.
Hyundai aims to grow in all business areas. In 2009, it gained 56 percent of its revenue from brokerage, followed by asset management and IB, which reported 19 percent and five percent, respectively.
The firm now plans to reduce the portion of its brokerage business below 50 percent this year, while increasing the asset management and IB businesses more than 10 percentage points compared to last year.
Recovery to Pre-Crisis Level
Hyundai has grown steadfast regardless of the global financial crisis. Total assets of the firm were 8.9 trillion won in fiscal 2007, rising to 10.6 trillion in 2008. It reached 12 trillion won at the first half of the 2009, which falls in September this year.
Its net profit is also recovering to the pre-crisis level. Hyundai marked a net income of 186.7 billion won in 2007, but it dropped to 149.2 trillion won in 2008 amid the global financial crisis. However, it recovered to 121.6 billion won in the first half of 2009, and is expected to recover to the pre-crisis level by the end of 2009.
The company has led the Korean stock market for the past 47 years since it was established in 1962. It provides wealth management, brokerage and other customer-focused financial services through 147 domestic and overseas branch offices.
Employees of the company are working hard to globalize, maximize and professionalize its operations, including investment banking (IB), principal investment (PI), derivatives product development, and new business exploration.
It plans to improve the quality of its services to provide premium solutions to customers in creating sustainable wealth growth. By establishing an innovative business system to maximize profits, it vows to enhance shareholder value and employee satisfaction to become the preeminent investment bank.