Kakao Pay off to solid start on stock market debut

South Korean mobile payment service Kakao Pay came off to a solid start on its debut Wednesday, trading higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price.

The payment arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea's top messenger app, exchanged hands at 185,000 won as of 9:20 a.m., up 2.78 percent from its opening price of 180,000 won.

Kakao Pay has set the IPO price at 90,000 won per share, seeking to raise 1.53 trillion won through the IPO.

The firm's market capitalization stood at 24.1 won, the 14th largest on the Kospi after giant steelmaker Posco.

Last week, Kakao Pay drew a total of 5.66 trillion won in deposits for IPO subscription from retail investors.

Kakao Pay spun off from its parent Kakao in 2017 and grew into the country's top mobile payment service company with a membership of more than 20 million as of end-June.

The company offers financial services, including mobile payment, remittance, insurance and loans.

It registered a net loss of 17.2 billion won last year, with sales of 246 billion won. (Yonhap)