[Courtesy of Korea Investment & Securities Co.]
Korea Investment & Securities Co., one of South Korea's major brokerages, has acquired Danpac Sekuritas, a mid-sized Indonesian securities firm, as part of efforts to become an international player.
Korea Investment said Tuesday that a contract to acquire a 75 percent stake in Danpac for 40 billion won (36.6 million US dollars) was signed in Jakarta. The company said it would turn Danpac into its overseas branch to provide financial services in the first half of next year.
Danpac is a midsized brokerage firm with its capital estimated at 6.2 billion won. In Indonesia, Korea Investment plans to build a customer-friendly online system and focus on bond and retail stock brokerage.
"We want to make this a stepping stone for our mid and long term goal of becoming Asia's top investment bank by 2020," Korea Investment CEO Ryu Sang-ho said in a statement.
In November, Korea Investment and four other securities firms were allowed to expand their businesses beyond brokerage services into investment banking businesses in a move aimed at enhancing their competitiveness against foreign rivals.
The top-tier investment banking club also includes Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities, NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities and Samsung Securities. Korea Investment was allowed to issue and sell registered promissory notes to retail investors, while the other firms can engage in foreign exchange business.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
