Hana chairman woos foreign investors with value-added plan

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo met with foreign investors in Hong Kong to unveil the company’s plan to increase shareholder value in line with Seoul’s corporate value enhancement program, the company said on Wednesday.

During the two-day visit through Tuesday, Ham outlined his group’s medium- to long-term plan to improve its profitability and shareholder returns during investor relations events with potential and existing investors, according to the company.

“Hana Financial Group’s efforts to increase shareholder value as part of the Korean financial sector’s value enhancement initiative is not a one-time event, but rather a long-term plan that will be implemented over a longer period of time,” Ham said.

The Chairman left Hong Kong and went to Sydney, Australia, where he plans to hold meetings with local institutional investors.

Foreign investors own about 70 percent of Hana Financial Group. The company’s share price has risen 36 percent this year, driven by investor anticipation of the government’s enterprise value enhancement program designed to address the chronic undervaluation of Korean stocks, a phenomenon known as the Korea discount.

Due to their low price-to-book ratios, financial stocks are considered the main beneficiaries of the program.

BY SHIN HA-NEE ([email protected])