November 21, 2024

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JB Financial Group Chairman Kim Ki-hong (left) and OKXE CEO Kim Woo-seok pose for a photo at a signing ceremony held in Seoul on Friday. (JB Financial Group)

South Korea's JB Financial Group said Monday it has signed a partnership with OKXE, a Vietnam-based platform for used motorcycles, eyeing the expansion of its brokerage business in the country.

At a signing ceremony held in Seoul on Friday, JB Financial Group and its affiliate JB Investment agreed to acquire a combined 8 percent stake in OKXE.

OKXE was launched in Vietnam in 2020 by CEO Kim Woo-seok, bringing used motorcycle transactions from offline to online. With over 8 million users as of end-2023, it has partnered with around 2,000 dealers.

JB Securities Vietnam, the firm’s brokerage arm in the Southeast Asian country, is to expand its customer base through partnerships, promotions and marketing events.

The latest partnership is the second of its kind following an agreement signed with Vietnam's retail investing app Infina earlier this month.

"Strategic partnership with OKXE is meaningful, as it is about creating a model of mutual growth by investing in a domestic fintech startup which has ventured out to the overseas market," JB Financial Group Chairman Kim Ki-hong said.

“We will push to expand the business to other Southeast Asian markets while strengthening the customer base for JBSV.”

In the meantime, JB added that the holding firm and its two affiliate banks -- Jeonbuk Bank and Gwangju Bank -- will acquire a combined 10 percent share in Webcash Group, a Seoul-based corporate solution provider.

Partnering with Webcash, the group hopes to strengthen its competitiveness in corporate banking and overseas business. JB’s Cambodian affiliate Phnom Penh Commercial Bank plans to cooperate with Kosign, an IT solutions provider affiliated with Webcash.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)
The Korea Herald