Ocheonpi and Cheon-sdaq Fuel IPO Hopes in Financial Sector: "We Will Use Our Earnings as a Springboard to Go Public"

[The Financial News] As the domestic stock market surges toward levels dubbed "Ocheonpi" (a nickname for the KOSPI index at the 5,000-point level) and "Cheon-sdaq" (a nickname for the KOSDAQ index when it reaches the 1,000-point level), optimism is spreading over initial public offerings (IPOs) in the financial sector. Fintech companies preparing to list, including internet-only bank K Bank, Banksalad and Habit Factory, now see this as the right time to go public and are accelerating their IPO plans.
According to the financial industry on the 27th, AI-based fintech firm Habit Factory posted sales of 39.3 billion won last year, up 70.1% from a year earlier. At the end of last year, the company appointed Samsung Securities and KB Securities as its joint lead underwriters and is preparing for an IPO, aiming to list on the KOSDAQ market early next year.
Habit Factory’s U.S. subsidiary, established in 2022, recorded sales of 3 billion won last year, doubling in just one year. The company operates a mortgage-focused bank across five states—California, United States, Texas, State of Georgia (Georgia), Nevada and Washington State—and its loan balance in December reached 22.2 billion won, the highest level on record. A Habit Factory representative explained, "We plan to prove both stability and growth by maintaining our improving performance while strengthening risk management and internal controls."
MyData specialist Banksalad has selected Mirae Asset Securities as its IPO underwriter and is pushing for a listing within this year. Banksalad turned profitable in the first half of last year, and revenue from its insurance analysis service, which leverages MyData and AI, has surged more than 200%. The company is seen as achieving both quantitative and qualitative growth.
K Bank is pressing ahead with its third attempt to go public, targeting a listing in the first quarter of this year. On the 12th, K Bank passed the preliminary listing review for the KOSPI Market and subsequently filed its securities registration statement. The bank has significantly lowered its desired IPO price range and offering size compared with previous attempts, in a bid to improve the chances of a successful listing.
K Bank is now widely viewed as having put its profitability on a stable track. In 2024, it posted a record net profit of 128.1 billion won, while boosting both loans and deposits to solidify its core banking revenue base. Its loan balance reached 17.9 trillion won, up 10.3% from a year earlier, and deposits climbed to 30.4 trillion won, an increase of 38.5%.
Signs of recovery are also emerging in the IPO market. Kim Soo-yeon, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities, noted, "As the public offering market began to recover in November and December last year, investment has been expanding from the late stages, including pre-IPO rounds." Kim added, "Although the recovery in the Korean market is slower than in the global venture market, the domestic venture market this year is still worth watching."
Toss, operated by Viva Republica, is preparing for a listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ). The company had left open the possibility of pursuing a domestic IPO by forming a syndicate of local underwriters in 2024, but it is now reported to have shifted its focus toward NASDAQ.
A financial industry official observed, "In the past, the financial sector largely pursued IPOs on the back of growth potential alone, but now there is a clear shift toward using earnings visibility and revenue performance as the key springboard for going public."
chord@fnnews.com Lee Hyun-jung Reporter