Kakao Bank to raise W500b in capital by issuing new shares

South Korea’s internet-only lender Kakao Bank has decided to raise 500 billion won ($422.4 million) in capital by issuing new shares, the firm said Wednesday.

The decision was approved by its board, as the firm seeks to improve its fiscal soundness. 

According to Kakao Bank, it will issue 100 million new common stocks priced at 5,000 won per share. The record date for the shares is scheduled Nov. 5 and the stocks will be listed on Nov. 22.

Once the capital increase process is completed, Kakao Bank will have a total paid-in capital of 1.8 trillion won, the firm said.

The announcement comes as the bank has been hoping to improve its capital adequacy ratio which plummeted to 11.74 percent in June.

This is the second-lowest among Korean banks, as local commercial banks have managed to maintain an average CAR of 13 percent.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)