KB Securities, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KB Financial Group (KBFG), Korea’s leading financial institution, has acquired 99.4% of Maritime Securities Incorporation (MSI), one of Vietnam’s leading investment banking and securities firms for US$34.2 million. AWR Lloyd acted as Financial Advisor to MSI on the transaction.

KBFG has the largest customer base and most extensive branch network in Korea with 33 overseas networks in 13 countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. The acquisition forms part of KBFG’s plans to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. KBFG member companies include KB Kookmin Bank, KB Securities, KB Insurance, KB Card and KB Capital. KB Securities, with shareholders’ equity of US$3.7 billion, was established from the merger of KB Investment & Securities and Hyundai Securities in 2016.

Founded in 2008, MSI is headquartered in Hanoi and operates from three offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. MSI has around 150 employees and offers a range of investment banking and securities brokerage services to institutional and retail customers with over 51,000 accounts.

AWR Lloyd has been active in Vietnam since 2004 advising both Vietnamese and international clients on strategy and investment transactions. AWR Lloyd’s Vietnam & Northeast Asia team is led by Managing Director, Ms Tuong Thi Thu Hanh from the firm’s office in Ho Chi Minh City. Ms Hanh has over 20 years investment banking experience in Vietnam and was previously with PetroVietnam Securities, ACB Securities and BIDV.

AWR Lloyd is a specialist strategy and transactions advisory firm focused on the Asian energy, resources and infrastructure sectors. The firm has a 17-year trackecord delivering bespoke strategic advice, M&A support and industry intelligence to some of the world’s biggest and most successful companies in the oil and gas, mining and metals, power, renewables, energy technology, infrastructure and financial services sectors.

For more information please contact Nadda Trisrisupa: nadda@awrlloyd.com