(From right) Shinhan Card CEO Moon Dong-kwon and Aster Group Chairperson Alexey Bakal pose during the inaugural ceremony for the joint venture with Aster Auto held at The Ritz-Carlton, Almaty, Friday. (Shinhan Card)

South Korea's leading card firm, Shinhan Card, has strengthened its foothold in Kazakhstan's auto finance market by establishing a joint venture with the nation's top used-car seller Aster Auto.

Shinhan Finance, the Kazakh unit of Shinhan Card, announced on Sunday the launch of this joint venture with Aster Auto.

This development follows their initial plan, unveiled in December, to set up a collaborative corporation. According to the plan, Aster will invest around 31 billion won ($22.8 million) into Shinhan Finance over the next five years to acquire a 49.9 percent stake in the joint entity.

This joint venture marks the culmination of a solid partnership between Shinhan Card and Aster Auto, which began in October 2021. Shinhan Finance aims to leverage Aster's extensive network of 26 stores to bolster its local sales and develop specialized products through regional partnerships.

Established in 2014, Shinhan Finance has grown into the fifth-largest microfinance provider in Kazakhstan with its services centering on car loans and credit loans.

Separately, Shinhan Finance also announced a new partnership with Astana Motors, Kazakhstan's leading automobile sales firm.

This agreement will see Shinhan Finance and Astana Motors collaborate in various areas, including the development of automobile loan products, technological cooperation and joint marketing.

Capitalizing on Astana Motors' market dominance and wide network, the Shinhan Card subsidiary aims to strengthen its prominence inside Kazakhstan's auto finance market, especially focusing on Hyundai Motors, a dominant brand among its sales, to maximize synergy from the new partnership and provide tailored finance services for local customers.

Shinhan Finance is also partnered with two other major Kazakh dealers, Allur and Orbis.

Founded in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, in November 2014 as Shinhan Card's first overseas corporation, Shinhan Finance has concentrated on microfinance products, including auto and credit loans. The company is now ranked fifth among local microfinance institutions.

This year, Shinhan Finance has focused on expanding its product and service offerings beyond used-car sales to include new cars, while streamlining the review process to shorten processing times.

As a result, it achieved record-high earnings in the second quarter, with accumulated assets reaching 172.8 billion won and capital handled amounting to 65.9 billion won.

Shinhan Card CEO Moon Dong-kwon visited Almaty, attending the partnership signing ceremony with Astana Motors on Thursday and the inaugural ceremony for the joint venture with Aster Auto the following day.