South Korean national agricultural cooperatives NongHyup Financial Group Inc. will launch an online bank in China jointly with its Chinese counterpart China Co-op Group Co. in the second half of this year.
NongHyup (NH) Financial announced recently that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China Co-op Group for a range of joint-ventures in financial services in the world`s second largest economy, including non-life insurance, lease, consumer financing and Internet banking. The Korean company will buy rights offering by its Chinese partner’s lease unit in the second half and launch joint ventures in Internet bank later in the year and non-life insurance service next year.
NH Financial will make use of the online open platform it has launched with 20 fintech companies late last month in providing service in China.
China Co-op established in 2010 by government entity All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives is a distribution giant in the Chinese agriculture market and also provides financial services. With its total asset amounting to 16.5 trillion won ($13.8 billion), China Co-op Group is ranked the 83rd in China’s top 500 companies. The two groups will form a task force to discuss funding and a range of cooperation that would include management consulting, technology transfer, capital investment and training programs.
The Korean state-invested bank also plans to expand business in Myanmar and Indonesia this year
NH Financial Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesia's largest bank Bank Mandiri at Mandiri's main office in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 1 to cooperate in developing rural areas in the Southeast Asian country.
Mandiri is the largest lender in Indonesia by assets, capital, loan and deposit balance, and the state-run bank with a 60 percent stake. It also has 2,300 branches and 15,000 automated teller machines nationwide.
Under the agreement, the two groups will share their financial knowhow and business networks in agriculture, cooperating in a wide range of financial services from banking and insurance to leasing and micro financing in order to develop rural areas in Indonesia.
In order to do so, NH will offer the group's knowhow and skills in agricultural finances, such as loans, credit guarantees and insurance for farmers, to Bank Mandiri, boosting financial services in Indonesian agriculture.
Moreover, Bank Mandiri is aware of the fact that the expansion of NH Financial Group into Indonesia will help developing Indonesian agriculture and has decided to actively cooperate in various sectors.
NH Investment & Securities is set to invest 700 billion won (US$599.5 million) in Yeouido’s Parc One multiple complex, according to sources familiar with the issue on July 11. The firm recently reached an agreement with property developer Y22 Development Co. to buy a 56-story office building — one of the four buildings to be built within the complex.
NH Investment & Securities will dip into its own coffers for 200 billion won of the amount, while the rest will be funded by pension funds, asset managers and its own affiliates. NH said that instead of moving in, it would resell the building for bigger gains.
Once construction is completed in 2020, the 277-meter building will stand as the third tallest in Yeouido. Currently, the tallest is Office Tower I, followed by International Finance Center Seoul. These two buildings were financed by AIG Group, which put IFC on the selling block this year.
The Parc One development project — estimated to cost around 2.5 trillion won — was initiated in 2007. But it was stalled since 2010 due to a lawsuit between the property-owner, Unification Church and Y22 Development.
The suit was settled in 2014, with the court ruling in favor of the developer. Y22 had sought to sell the buildings prior to its completion, but the Unification Church had rejected the idea, saying it was a violation of their contract.
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