Online lender K Bank withdraws plan for Kospi listing

K Bank, a South Korean online bank, has postponed its initial public offering (IPO) plan to list on the main bourse Kospi later this month.

The digital banking unit of Korean telecom giant KT Corp. announced on Friday that it has filed a notice of withdrawal of its securities registration statement with the Financial Services Commission.

“The latest institutional investor demand forecasting results did not confirm sufficient demand for a successful listing, so we have decided to withdraw the IPO,” the bank said in the withdrawal statement.

According to the financial investment industry, the bank plans to re-list early next year by changing the structure of the offering, including the number of shares offered.

As a result, both the listing date and subscription schedule are expected to be pushed back.

“With the total number of shares to be offered reaching 82 million, we have determined that the current offering structure will not attract sufficient investment demand for successful growth,” a K bank official explained.

The company decided to postpone the listing after the demand forecast, which ran until Oct. 16, was weaker than initially expected.

This is the second time the bank has postponed its listing.

“We plan to list again as soon as possible, and we will strive to ensure that we are recognized for the right corporate value during the listing process,” said a K bank official.

Write to Jeong-Cheol Bae at bjc@hankyung.com