Financial chiefs hope to overcome saturated domestic market


Chief executives of major financial companies are increasingly focusing on overseas public relations to overcome the challenges of the saturated local market.

Among the more active players are KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae and Shinhan Financial Group chairman Han Dong-woo.

Euh left for the U.S. last Saturday to hold investor relations sessions in major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

The group’s spokesmen said he plans to speak on the performance of the nation’s No. 1 financial group which reported a net profit of 757.5 billion won ($693 million) during the first quarter after suffering losses of more than 300 billion won from a quarter before.

Euh is also scheduled to participate in the 15th Microsoft CEO Summit, slated for May 17-19 in Seattle.

He is one of two Koreans who were invited to the meeting. Microsoft has been exchanging views on economic and environmental issues by inviting chief executives from major global companies.

KB Financial expects the chairman’s trip to create an opportunity for the group to make inroads into international markets.

Shinhan Financial chairman Han, meanwhile, has been conducting IR sessions in Asia including Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

After meeting Japanese shareholders in Osaka last February, Han departed for Southeast Asia to hold IR sessions.

Shinhan officials said the chairman, who took office this year, plans to attract overseas investments by giving its renovated business strategies.

The group has recently revamped its management structure after undergoing an internal feud among the top three executives during the fourth quarter of 2010.

The nation’s top four financial groups ― KB, Woori, Shinhan and Hana ― are expected to reap more than 10 trillion won in combined net profit this year, mainly buoyed by revised accounting standards.

The market is focusing on the growing feasibility of their all-time high earnings as they reported remarkable earnings during the first quarter.

Profits posted by the mega-foursome reached 2.6 trillion won in the first quarter, a jump of about 680 percent from 330 billion won in the fourth quarter.

Shinhan Financial topped the list with 924.3 billion won, followed by KB Financial with 757.6 billion won, Woori Financial with 540.7 billion won and Hana Financial with 389.5 billion won.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)