[Concall] Kakao to Expand Its Scale Again This Year with 'KakaoTalk Ads' (Comprehensive)

"Kakao Page Preparing to Enter Taiwan, Thailand, and China"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Kakao, which surpassed 3 trillion KRW in annual sales last year, is set to expand its scale this year based on the growth of KakaoTalk (KakaoTalk) advertising business performance. Additionally, it is expected to accelerate the global expansion of paid content such as KakaoPage.

On the 13th, Yeo Min-soo, co-CEO of Kakao, said during a conference call following the announcement of the 2019 Q4 earnings, "The daily sales of TalkBoard, KakaoTalk's advertising business model, exceeded 500 million KRW in December last year," adding, "We have confirmed the potential to expand to more than 100,000 advertisers in the long term."

He stated, "The sales target for TalkBiz, the KakaoTalk-based business division, is 1 trillion KRW," and "We expect about 50% growth compared to last year." He also explained, "New advertisers have rapidly joined TalkBoard, securing more than 3,000 advertisers," and "As the attention to Kakao's overall advertising has increased due to TalkBoard's growth, TalkBoard will serve as an entry point leading to the business channel page."

Kakao is also accelerating the global expansion of paid content such as KakaoPage. CEO Yeo said, "Paid content is showing rapid growth globally with the know-how accumulated by KakaoPage and original intellectual property (IP)," and "We are preparing to enter the Taiwan, Thailand, and China markets this year, which will be the first year of global expansion for K-content." In the case of Piccoma, which showed a steep growth with an annual transaction volume increase of 130% compared to the previous year, Kakao plans to further solidify its position as a manga platform in the Japanese market.

Furthermore, Kakao is placing high hopes on the TechFin market, which provides services across all financial sectors including banking, stocks, and insurance. CEO Yeo emphasized, "The scale of KakaoPay usage is 13.5 trillion KRW, with online payments driving the overall transaction volume growth," and "KakaoBank, with 11 million users, will pioneer new markets in daily life and rise as a preferred financial service for domestic users."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.