Shinhan expands global IR push to woo foreign investors

Shinhan Financial Group Co. is stepping up efforts to attract foreign investors with back-to-back global investor relations (IR) campaigns, as South Korea’s leading financial groups align with a government-led initiative to boost corporate valuations.

Shinhan Financial Board Chairwoman Yoon Jae-won led meetings with institutional investors in Hong Kong and Singapore from May 27 to 29, marking the first time a board chair of a Korean-listed company has personally conducted overseas IR sessions.

Yoon outlined Shinhan’s shareholder return targets and governance reforms aimed at raising corporate value.

The trip followed an earlier European roadshow by Shinhan Financial Chairman and Chief Executive Jin Ok-dong, who met investors in London, Frankfurt and Warsaw from May 18 to 23.

For 2025, Korea's top financial group is targeting a 0.5 percentage point improvement in return on equity, a common equity tier 1 capital ratio above 13.1%, and a shareholder return ratio exceeding 42%.

The group has vowed to enhance board oversight and governance standards aligned with global best practices.

"The board's efforts to advance corporate governance will serve as a foundation for strengthening Shinhan Financial’s management efficiency, transparency and ultimately, corporate value," Yoon said.

As of May 30, foreign investors held 58.4% of Shinhan Financial’s shares, with BlackRock Inc. holding 5.86%.

Shinhan’s expanded IR push comes as Korea’s financial regulators promote a voluntary corporate value-up program to address the long-standing “Korea discount” that has kept valuations below global peers.

Since February last year, more than 100 listed companies, including Korea’s top financial groups, have pledged to adopt stronger shareholder return policies and improve governance to attract long-term foreign capital.

Write to Jin-Seong Kim at jskim1028@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.