Chairman Jo Yong-byeong Sets Off on European Business Trip... Full-Scale Resumption of Overseas IR

Visits to Sweden, Denmark, the UK, and Others... IR for Overseas Investors

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, CEOs of major domestic financial groups are actively resuming overseas investor relations (IR) activities, and Cho Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, has embarked on a week-long business trip to Europe.

According to the financial sector on the 15th, Chairman Cho Yong-byeong will visit the UK, Sweden, and Denmark from today until the 22nd to conduct IR sessions targeting overseas investors. During this overseas trip, Chairman Cho plans to share Shinhan Financial Group's recent performance, shareholder return policies, as well as achievements in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management with foreign investors.

Earlier, in November last year, Chairman Cho resumed overseas IR by visiting the US and the UK consecutively to meet investors. At that time, he was the only representative from a domestic financial group invited to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) held in the UK, where he introduced the group's carbon neutrality strategy.

This approach by Chairman Cho is interpreted as an effort to attract overseas investors who are highly interested in stock price appreciation and shareholder returns. Among the four major domestic financial holding companies, except for Woori Financial Group, the foreign ownership ratio reaches 60-70%, indicating a significant influence of overseas investors.

Shinhan Financial Group is also focusing on stock price appreciation and dividends. Under Chairman Cho's leadership, the group became the first domestic financial group to implement quarterly dividends last year and decided to regularize this practice starting this year. Additionally, last month, the group purchased 150 billion KRW worth of treasury shares to boost the stock price. Chairman Cho himself has also purchased treasury shares multiple times.

A Shinhan Financial Group official stated, "Given the considerable influence of foreign shareholders, we will focus on sharing our management performance during this business trip and attracting investments from major overseas institutional investors."

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