Kakao Bank, South Korea's largest internet-only bank, said Monday it will carry out a demand forecasting session this week for its planned initial public offering (IPO).

Demand forecasting for domestic institutions is slated for Tuesday and Thursday, with that for overseas institutional investors set to take place Monday through Wednesday.

Kakao Bank has offered an IPO price range between 33,000 won ($28.9) to 39,000 won per share, while seeking to raise up to 18.5 trillion won via the share sale.

Its envisioned capitalization would exceed some 13 trillion won for Hana Financial Group Inc. and about 8 trillion won for Woori Financial Group Inc. -- two of South Korea's four major financial holding firms.

Kakao Bank said it will receive subscriptions from general investors for its shares. The bank plans to sell 65.45 million shares through its IPO scheduled for early August.

SK Securities Co., meanwhile, projected Kakao Bank's market value could reach 30.7 trillion won after its IPO, much higher than 22 trillion won for KB Financial Group Inc. and nearly 20 trillion won for Shinhan Financial Group Co.

Kakao Bank, led by Kakao Corp., the operator of the country's dominant messaging app KakaoTalk, has gained popularity among mobile-savvy customers in recent years thanks to its around-the-clock service and convenience. (Yonhap)