S. Korea OKs Kakaopay's entry into brokerage business

SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's financial authorities on Wednesday approved Kakaopay Corp.'s request to become the largest shareholder of Baro Investment & Securities, a move that will allow the country's leading fintech service platform provider to enter the brokerage business.

The decision came 14 months after Kakaopay, a unit of Kakao Corp., the country's leading mobile messenger app, signed an estimated 40 billion-won (US$33.5 million) deal to buy a 60 percent stake in the brokerage house, a smaller brokerage firm specializing in corporate finance.

In 2018, Kakaopay announced a blueprint under which it will offer various investment products such as stocks and funds by taking advantage of Kakao Talk, South Korea's largest messaging app operated by its parent company Kakao Corp.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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