Japanese Pharmaceutical Stocks Slide as TrumpRx.gov Launch Sparks Market Concerns 
Hims & Hers Halts Compounded Semaglutide Pill After FDA Warning 
Nasdaq Proposes Fast-Track Rule to Accelerate Index Inclusion for Major New Listings 
Prudential Financial Reports Higher Q4 Profit on Strong Underwriting and Investment Gains 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
South Korea’s Weak Won Struggles as Retail Investors Pour Money Into U.S. Stocks 
Weight-Loss Drug Ads Take Over the Super Bowl as Pharma Embraces Direct-to-Consumer Marketing 
Baidu Approves $5 Billion Share Buyback and Plans First-Ever Dividend in 2026 
Thailand Inflation Remains Negative for 10th Straight Month in January 
Gold Prices Slide Below $5,000 as Strong Dollar and Central Bank Outlook Weigh on Metals 
Russian Stocks End Mixed as MOEX Index Closes Flat Amid Commodity Strength 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target 
Amazon Stock Rebounds After Earnings as $200B Capex Plan Sparks AI Spending Debate 
Washington Post Publisher Will Lewis Steps Down After Layoffs 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
Kakao Group started off as the operator of the popular KaKatoTalk, a mobile messenger app and over the years, it has aggressively expanded its business to new territories. It succeeded every time and now it is one of South Korea’s fifth-largest business companies in terms of market cap.
How Kakao grew from KakaoTalk
Yonhap News Agency reported that financial data gathered from the Korea Exchange and Infomax, a market researcher, shows that the combined market capitalization of all Kakao firms is estimated to be ₩73.9 trillion or $65.1 billion as of June 18. This is said to be a big increase from just ₩13.2 trillion by the end of 2019.
The first four conglomerates that came before Kakao Group is Samsung Group at first place with ₩751 trillion market cap, followed by SK Group with ₩200 trillion, LG Group with ₩158 trillion, and finally Hyundai Motor Group at no. 4 with its estimated ₩152 trillion market value.
The latest development that boosted Kakao’s earnings recently was its advertising, various content business and e-commerce. The positive outlook for the initial public offerings of its financial subsidiaries before this year ends also helped push the company’s revenues up. In any case, shares of Kakao was up 4.73 percent last weekend closing at ₩155,000
Kakao Bank preparing for July’s IPO
One of Kakao’s subsidiaries that is preparing for IPO is the Kakao Bank. After getting preliminary approval, the app-based bank is now working toward an initial public offering next month.
With this, the company will be adding a bank stock under the lending category and this is happening for the first time in 27 years, as per Pulse News. The last bank stock on the Korea Exchange was said to be the Industrial Bank of Korea in 1994.
Late last week, the Korea Exchange granted preliminary approval for Kakao Bank’s plans for IPO. This gives permission for the online-based bank to start its schedule to go public on KOSPI in July. Kakao Bank will be sharing more details about its IPO syllabus.
Meanwhile, Market observers predicted that Kakao Bank’s IPO may fetch about ₩2 trillion or $1.8 billion.
