Naver and Dunamoo’s cooperation in digital finance business is bringing another “rising wave” to the local stock market. Hanwha Investment & Securities and Woori Technology Investment, which are woven into shares, are considered direct beneficiaries. In the long run, KOSDAQ listed companies such as KG Inisys, Aton, and Korea Information Certification are also expected to benefit. Naver Financial, a subsidiary of Naver, and Dunamu (Upbit), the top cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, will exchange shares with each other. As a result, Naver has added digital finance such as coins to its existing search and advertising business as a major “cash cow” business.
The combination of Korea’s No. 1 platform and coin exchange means that digital finance will expand significantly. As a result, the ransom of KG Innisys, which provides online and offline payment infrastructure (PG), is also on the rise. KG Innisys plays a role in settling the payment amount between affiliated stores and consumers. If there is a delay in the settlement of franchisees, KG Innisys has to accumulate provisions and deal with costs, which leads to a decrease in performance.
This year, there is no such one-time cost factor and the expected performance is increasing as the coin-based payment market is growing. Analysts say that if Naver and Upbit are linked in earnest in the future and the coin-based payment function is activated, KG Innisis’ payment processing fees will increase.
According to FnGuide, KG Innisys’ net profit this year is estimated to be KRW 75.9 billion. This is a 69.6% increase compared to last year. In 2027, it is once again challenging its record performance (97.1 billion won) in 2023. It is expected to be achieved through the ripple effect of cooperation between Naver and Dunamu.
Aton, which provides mobile authentication, security, and personal authentication services, is also expecting a ‘Naver effect’. As the digital financial market grows, Aton’s investment attractiveness, which is a “security stock,” is also increasing.
Aton’s sales, which were 44.7 billion won in 2022, are steadily increasing to 55 billion won the following year and 65.4 billion won last year. Last year’s net profit was 11 billion won, and the net profit rate was about 17%. Another security stock, Korea Information Certification, has also seen strong stock prices and performance this year. New businesses related to cloud and fintech are also being promoted recently, focusing on accredited certification and electronic signature services.
Last year, it exceeded 100 billion won in sales for the first time ever. Investors are paying attention to sales growth of more than 30% year-on-year.
However, they are expected to receive mid- to long-term benefits, and their stock prices do not shine right now. Hanwha Investment & Securities and Woori Technology Investment immediately rebounded from the news of Naver and Dunamu cooperation. Dunamu plans to list on Nasdaq and other U.S. markets by increasing corporate value after exchanging shares with Naver Financial. In addition, the equity value of companies with stakes in the two trees will rise sharply. Dunamu, which is still an unlisted company, has a 25.5% stake in Song Ji-hyung, 10.6% in Kakao Investment, 7.2% in Woori Technology Investment, and 5.9% in Hanwha Investment & Securities. Kakao Investment is also an unlisted company.
[Reporter Moon Ilho]
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