Credit card unit of Hyundai Motor Group to make inroads in Vietnam after securing 50 percent of local consumer finance firm.
Hyundai Card, the credit card unit of the Hyundai Motor Group, will make inroads into the Vietnamese market by signing a contract with Finance Company Limited for Community (FCCOM) to buy a 50 per cent stake in the Vietnamese consumer finance firm for 49 billion won ($41.9 million).
This is the first time Hyundai Card has made a direct entry into a foreign market, according to The Korea Times. FCCOM, a subsidiary of the Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB), mainly deals with personal loans.
After Hyundai Card’s acquisition of the stake in FCCOM, the card firm and MSB will operate FCCOM as a joint venture.
Hyundai Card will focus on sharing its know-how of financial products, marketing, risk management, and digital finance, while MSB, which is familiar with the local market, will be in charge of sales and business practices.
The new joint venture will begin operations starting from the second half of 2020, as it is expected to obtain approval from financial authorities in South Korea and Vietnam within the first quarter of next year.
Hyundai Card plans to deal with credit cards, auto loans, and corporate financing in Vietnam.
It said it will maximise synergies in the Vietnamese market through joint marketing with Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.
“Given that our entry into Vietnam is our first expansion into the overseas market, it has significant meaning for us,” a Hyundai Card official said. “Based on the Vietnamese market, we will expand our presence in the Southeast Asian market.”
Over the past few years, South Korean card firms have made efforts in overseas expansion to boost their profitability through market diversification.
In July, Shinhan Card started doing business in Vietnam after acquiring Prudential Vietnam Finance in January 2018 and launching Shinhan Vietnam Finance.
http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/hyundai-card-arrives-in-vietnam
