JB Woori Capital agrees to buy Kyrgyz finance firms' parent in Central Asia debut
In short
JB Financial Group (JB금융그룹) said on 22 October that its unit JB Woori Capital (JB우리캐피탈) signed a share purchase agreement for 100% of Epoke (에포케), the parent of Kyrgyzstan's Korky Credit and Korky Leasing. The group plans to close the deal this year after approval and registration by local financial authorities. It would be the group's fifth overseas base and its first in Central Asia.
Read the full story 2 min read
JB Financial Group (JB금융그룹) said on 22 October that its unit JB Woori Capital (JB우리캐피탈) had signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of Epoke (에포케). Epoke is the parent company of the Kyrgyz financial companies Korky Credit and Korky Leasing. Bloter cited JB Woori Capital as its source for the announcement. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The group plans to complete the acquisition this year, after the approval and registration procedures of local financial authorities. Maeil Business and Bloter reported that the two companies would then become wholly owned subsidiaries of JB Woori Capital. Korea Economic Daily said they would become subsidiaries. None of the three outlets gave a purchase price. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The deal would give JB Financial its fifth overseas base and its first in Central Asia. Maeil Business said the group currently runs a commercial bank in Cambodia, a microfinance company in Myanmar and a securities firm in Vietnam. Bloter and Korea Economic Daily said the overseas business began with the 2016 acquisition of Cambodia's Phnom Penh Commercial Bank. Korea Economic Daily listed Indonesia's finance company as the fourth base. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
JB Financial gave Kyrgyzstan's demographics and growth as reasons for the move. Bloter and Korea Economic Daily reported that about 70% of the population is aged 30 or under and that recent real GDP growth exceeds 10% a year, according to the group. Maeil Business, citing the IMF, reported real GDP growth of 11.1% last year and a forecast slowdown to 6.1% this year. Korea Economic Daily said the group judged local financial infrastructure to be lacking. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
JB Woori Capital plans to develop car financing as a core business, in line with rising used-car demand in Kyrgyzstan. It intends to apply the screening, sales and risk-management skills it built in Korea to the local market. In the medium to long term, the company aims to move beyond a retail-centred structure and diversify its income. A JB Financial official called the acquisition a strategic decision to extend the group's financial network beyond Southeast Asia into Central Asia. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The outlets also placed the deal alongside the group's Indonesian activity. Bloter and Korea Economic Daily said JB Woori Capital agreed to buy an 85% stake in KB Bukopin Finance for about 29 billion won, with Bloter dating the contract to July 2025. Maeil Business and Bloter said Indonesian authorities approved the deal in September, while Korea Economic Daily said it was bought in August and received final approval last month. Bloter also reported that JB Woori Capital's first-half profit attributable to controlling shareholders was 176.8 billion won, up 34.2% from a year earlier. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The deal extends JB Financial's overseas business beyond Southeast Asia, where it has operated in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia. Outlets describe it as part of the group's effort to diversify income, with car financing as the starting point in Kyrgyzstan.
Key facts
- JB Woori Capital signed a share purchase agreement for 100% of Epoke, the parent of Korky Credit and Korky Leasing in Kyrgyzstan, JB Financial said on 22 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The group plans to complete the acquisition this year, after approval and registration procedures with local financial authorities. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Once completed, the two companies would become subsidiaries of JB Woori Capital; Maeil Business and Bloter describe them as wholly owned subsidiaries. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Kyrgyzstan would be JB Financial's fifth overseas base, after Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia, and its first in Central Asia. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- JB Woori Capital plans to build car financing as the core business, citing rising used-car demand in Kyrgyzstan. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- JB Financial cited a population of about 70% aged 30 or under as a reason for the move. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- JB Woori Capital signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Epoke, parent of Korky Credit and Korky Leasing, with completion planned this year pending approval by local financial authorities. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The acquisition would give JB Financial a fifth overseas base after Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia, and its first in Central Asia. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- JB Woori Capital plans to apply its domestic car-financing expertise in Kyrgyzstan and, over the longer term, to move beyond a retail-centred business structure. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Kyrgyzstan's recent GDP growth rate. Maeil Business cites the IMF for real GDP growth of 11.1% last year, with a forecast of 6.1% this year. Bloter and Korea Economic Daily quote JB Financial as saying recent real GDP growth exceeds 10% a year.
- When the Indonesian acquisition of KB Bukopin Finance was completed or approved. Korea Economic Daily says the group bought the company in August and received final approval from local authorities last month; Maeil Business and Bloter say approval came in September.
- The price of the Kyrgyz acquisition. None of the documents states a purchase price.