Privatization and Globalization

Korea Development Bank focuses on strengthening its operation to be ready for privatization and global expansion

Korea Development Bank (KDB) will make efforts to strengthen its competitiveness as it gets ready to privatize its operation.
KDB officials said the bank has successfully concluded its plan to strengthen its growth base by improving its system and the health of its structure for continued growth. This year, the bank will strengthen its operations by taking advantage of its core capacity to expand its turnover and the quality of its operation in order to continue to make efforts to boost KDB's position as a leader in Asia's financial circles.
In this regard, the state-owned bank has set two major goals this year to expand its operational assets by 8.2 percent in net, or 7 trillion won, and supply 32 trillion won in loans.
In order to achieve the target, the bank will conduct organizational changes by setting up a new credit control team and, at the same time, strengthen the strategic planning team.
Through the new credit team, the bank plans to set up a new direction for its credit policies and implementation plans based on the financial market situation so that its market support would be more systematic as well as strengthen the management of its loan portfolio and the development of new financial products.
KDB will focus in particular on the development of new financial products, services and marketing support plans through the Corporate Investment Bank under the KDB Financial Group. Ultimately, KDB wants to come up with its own segregated competitive power over its rival banks in the country.
Under the reorganization, the channel strategic planning function has been transferred to the Planning Management Headquarter as well as plans to expand the operation of the Financial Plaza by affiliates and other units related to IT.
Personnel exchanges among affiliates will also be expanded with the aim of personnel training and synergy among affiliates. First up are Daewoo Securities and KDB to exchange professional personnel.
KDB is also considering strengthening the power of CEOs in charge of the headquarters responsible for manpower management, training and budgets for more effective management in order to maximize results of their operations.
The former Minister of Strategy and Finance and close confidante of President Lee Myung-bak, appeared to want to put to rest rumors that he is a stubborn bureaucrat and doesn't listen to others advice.
Korean financial services firms have long been talking about going global. But in most cases, globalization rarely goes beyond providing banking and other basic services to Korean exporters and expatriate businessmen abroad.
The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) prefers to be an international banking force that matters. Such is the confidence built by the bank's extensive experience and prowess in investment banking, which it hopes will lay the building blocks for a larger presence across Asian markets and beyond.
KDB, now led by its new governor who is also chairman of KDB Financial Group, Kang Man-soo, has announced the goal of becoming a global commercial and investment bank (CIB) by 2020. The obvious targets are Asian nations, which collectively are home to more than half of the planet's population and with easier cultural barriers for a Korean banking group to surmount.

ADVANCEMENT SEEN IN UZBEKISTAN, CHINA
KDB's lust for globalization was represented by its acquisition last year of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Uzbekistan (RBS Uz). The deal, inked last December, saw KDB acquire an 82 percent-plus stake of RBS Uz.
KDB plans to merge with UzKDB, the bank's Uzbekistan unit, this year. The combined company is expected to become the seventh-largest lender and the biggest foreign bank in Uzbekistan, KDB officials said.
UzKDB is our own attack camp as we set to advance further into central Asian nations, KDB said in a news release.
KDB is also planning to open more branches in China, the world's fastest growing economy. The bank will increase its outlets in the country's northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, areas where Korean industrial companies are particularly active.
Expanding its business network in western China, a financial market that has been growing at around 15 percent annually, is also among KDB's priorities.
Elsewhere, KDB has been enjoying an expanding presence in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. nw

Chairman Kang Man-soo of KDB Financial Group.

Photo on Courtesy of KDB