South Korean app-based lender Kbank announced on Wednesday that it will postpone its planned initial public offering (IPO) in 2025 to receive a fair valuation. The decision was attributed to difficulties in obtaining an accurate corporate valuation due to sluggish stock market conditions amid rising uncertainties at home and abroad.

Kbank passed a preliminary review for listing in August 2024 and pushed ahead with its IPO but postponed it to 2025 due to weak demand. Now the IPO has been delayed once again.

“We will continue to focus on sustained growth as well as profitability and will swiftly resume our IPO efforts when market conditions improve,” a Kbank official said.

The bank also explained that the postponement of the listing will not disrupt its business as its Bank for International Settlements (BIS) total capital adequacy ratio has been rising for three consecutive quarters since reaching 13.18 percent at the end of 2023.

Kbank had 12.74 million customers at the end of December 2024, an increase of more than 3.2 million customers over the past year. The bank also reported a net profit of 122.4 billion won ($83.89 million) as of the third quarter of 2024, surpassing its full-year performance for 2022.

[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지]