President and CEO Yoon Kyung-eun of KB Securities Co. /  President and CEO Chun Byoung-jo of KB Securities.

KB Securities Co. will invest 70 billion won in its wholly-owned subsidiary in Vietnam to boost its capital as it plans to expand its operation in the financial market in southeast Asia. The securities affiliate of KB Financial Group plans to expand its exploration of the regional financial market.

According to the IB sources on Oct. 22, KB Securities Vietnam (KBSB) board of directors approved the proposal to boost its capital by issuing new 138 million new shares from the 4th quarter to the first quarter next year with each share valued at 10,000 dong in local currency with total market value coming to 1.380 trillion dong or 66.6 billion won.

KB Securities allocated 70 billion won for the move in consideration of the changes in the exchange rate between the Korean currency and the Vietnamese currency.

When the capital increase is completed, the capital of KBSV will be boosted to 95.5 billion won from 25.5 billion won, to rank the 8th largest among the local securities firms from the 31st.

The local subsidiary will be able to strengthen its IB sector and take up the derivatives operation. KB Securities took over 99.4 percent of Maritime Securities in November, last year and renamed it as KBSV. The subsidiary logged 4.3 billion won in the H1 sales this year and 700 million won in net profit in the period.

KB Securities took over the Vietnamese securities firm with a very bullish view on the Vietnamese economy with some 60 percent of its population engaged in economic activities with a great potential for growth.

KB Securities plans to disseminate the information on M&A objects and investment commodities in Vietnam to domestic institutional investors to boost its sales.

Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo has been urging investments by the group’s affiliates to invest in Vietnam as the base for their overseas operation. He promised to invest $110 million in Vietnam by the group and its affiliates when he met Deputy Premier Bu Duc Nam during his tour of the southeast Asian country on Sept. 7.

 
The group’s affiliates including KB Card, KB Non-Life Insurance, and KB Wealth Management are likely to make investments in the Vietnamese financial firms.

KB Securities have been making investment led by President Jeon Byung-jo in charge of the IB Operation for the company. He has been visiting KBSV from Oct. 17-19 to check on its operation in particular its CSR activities including social services and the support to the local educational facilities expansion.

He said KBSV has been doing a great job to help KB Securities to become a leader in the Asian financial market.

KB Securities has bought a building used as Facebook Inc.’s second Dublin office for around 150 billion won ($140 million), in the first property investment in Ireland by a South Korean financial institution.

The securities firm committed 70 billion won to a fund of LB Investment, a South Korean asset manager and borrowed 80 billion won in a secured loan to close the acquisition on May 29, according to investment banking sources on May 30.

It bought the property from the Comer Group, a London-based property developer, which reportedly spent €5 million on the purchase in 2013 and poured an additional money to renovate the then vacant space.

KB Securities is believed to resell the equity interests in the Beckett building to other South Korean institutional investors, but no further details were available immediately.

A view of the KB Securities building in Yeouido, Seoul.(Photos: KB Securities)