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By Kwanwoo Jun
Mobile-payments company Kakaopay Corp. soared in its trading debut in South Korea on Wednesday, boosting its market value to beyond that of the country’s top lender.
Shares of the fintech company affiliated with internet group Kakao Crop. more than doubled from their IPO price of KRW90,000 ($76) for most of the session.
The stock was trading at KRW195,000, bringing the firm’s estimated market capitalization to about KRW24 trillion ($20 billion), exceeding the market cap of KB Financial Group Inc.
Kakaopay, owned by Kakao Corp. and Alipay, the payments unit of Ant Group Co., raised $1.3 billion in a heavily oversubscribed IPO.
It plans to use proceeds to buy stakes in other companies to expand its business, with an aim to become “a one-stop platform for all digital financial services.”
Kakaopay’s debut had been delayed due to regulators’ call for revising its listing document, which reflected tougher rules for tech companies.
Kakao Corp., which operates the most popular messaging app in South Korea, owns a 55% stake in Kakaopay, according to regulatory filings.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
This item was corrected at 0400 GMT to reflect Kakaopay had a strong IPO, more than doubling vs. its IPO price. The original version incorrectly described it as lackluster and used percentage comparisons with the opening price of KRW180,000 rather than the IPO price of KRW90,000.
