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| Shinhan Card CEO Moon Dong-kwon speaks at his inauguration ceremony held at the firm's headquarters in central Seoul, Jan. 3. Courtesy of Shinhan Card |
By Anna J. Park
Shinhan Card aims to become a top-tier operator in retail loans in Kazakhstan by strengthening local partnerships as well as accelerating digitalization.
The company announced on Sunday that Shinhan Card CEO Moon Dong-kwon visited LLP MFO Shinhan Finance, the local subsidiary of the card company in Kazakhstan earlier this month.
During the visit, Moon also held meetings with local auto companies, including Aster Auto and Orbis Auto, to strengthen their business partnerships. Aster Auto is the biggest used car dealer in Kazakhstan and Orbis Auto is a major automobile dealership.
The card company formed a strategic business partnership with Asia Auto, the top automobile manufacturing and sales company in Kazakhstan, in August 2020, followed by another partnership with Aster Auto in October 2021.
Based on such solid partnerships with local companies, the Kazakh subsidiary of Shinhan Card posted an average annual growth of 72 percent during the past three years. Since establishing the card firm's first overseas subsidiary, LLP MFO Shinhan Finance has grown into one of the top five retail loan firms in the central Asian country, out of some 230 competitors. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the Kazakh subsidiary's total assets amount to 124.3 billion won ($94.8 million).
LLP MFO Shinhan Finance plans to accelerate digitalization by strengthening online loan processes using mobile or internet applications. The firm also aims to digitalize more of its internal business operations, such as loan evaluations, customer management and bond management systems, to increase efficiency.
"The company hopes to lead the further spread of so-called 'K-finance' in Kazakhstan, with its deep-rooted financial business and digital transformation capabilities," an official from Shinhan Card said, adding that it plans to nurture LLP MFO Shinhan Finance to become a leading company in credit loans and retail loans.
