Shares of KakaoBank, a south Korean internet bank, surged 74% in early trading on Friday, with a market capitalization of 32 trillion won ($28 billion), making it the largest retail bank in south Korea by market capitalization.
The listing could mark a shift in South Korea's financial landscape. Before the listing of KakaoBank, the largest financial company in South Korea was KB Financial Group (KB Financial Group), which has a market capitalization of about 22 trillion won, followed by Shinhan Financial Group (Shinhan Financial Group), which has a market capitalization of about 20 trillion won, and Hanya Financial Group (Hana Financial Group), which has a market capitalization of about 13 trillion won.
KakaoBank is valued at 18.5 trillion won ($16.2 billion) at IPO prices, although its assets are less than 1/10 of those of some of South Korea's largest retail banks.
KakaoBank is the latest company to go public in Kakao Corp., a subsidiary of Kim Van Soo, South Korea's richest man. Last month, Kim Van-soo overtook Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong to become South Korea's new richest man. This is an example of how self-made technology entrepreneurs surpass the members of the chaebol family who have controlled South Korea for decades.
Jin Fanxiu, 55, was born in poverty and once shared a room with seven family members. He was the first of his siblings to go to college and studied at Seoul National University, where he paid for his tuition by tutoring.
The new richest man in South Korea has previously joined the "gift pledge" initiated by Buffett and Bill Gates, promising to donate most of his wealth after his death to help solve social problems.