Afinit, the operator of "True Balance," which has captured the Indian market as an alternative finance platform, is on the verge of attempting a KOSDAQ listing. After recently holding preliminary consultations with the Korea Exchange (KRX) and others, the company plans to formally kick off the listing process, including filing for a preliminary listing review within the first half.
On the 8th, according to the financial investment industry, Afinit has finalized its plan to pursue a listing within the year and, as early as the first half, set a plan to file for a preliminary listing review with the KOSDAQ Market Division of the Korea Exchange (KRX). The company is also understood to have recently held preliminary consultations with the exchange along with its lead underwriter, Mirae Asset Securities.
It completed the designated audit procedures based on last year's settlement of account, and is understood to have finished on-site due diligence in India, its business base. Afinit posted 169.1 billion won in consolidation revenue last year and 44.9 billion won in operating profit. Net profit was 26 billion won, and it is pursuing a general listing rather than a special listing.
Afinit originated from Balance Hero, a Korean Fintech startup better known in India for small loans, founded in 2014. Chief Executive Lee Cheol-won, who sold caller ringback tone solutions to Asian telecom operators at SK Telecom subsidiary WiderThan, established the company with the goal of targeting the Indian financial market.
Afinit is cited as a Fintech hopeful for the KOSDAQ market. Its application (app) "True Balance," which tells users their prepaid mobile balance, introduced a smartphone-based micro short-term lending service in India and scored what is often called a jackpot. It has secured more than 100 million users.
The company has expanded its business beyond lending into brokering various financial products, including insurance. In particular, it built a platform business supplying an "alternative credit scoring system (ACS)" that analyzes nonfinancial data with artificial intelligence (AI) to Indian financial companies, with more than 30% of total revenue coming from the platform.
An issue over transferring the major shareholder's equity, once seen as a listing hurdle, has also entered the process of being resolved. In 2017, when Afinit was in its early days, it discussed transferring part of the equity held by a co-founder on the condition of an IPO, but when the co-founder left the company, the condition escalated into a lawsuit.
Although the Supreme Court's final ruling appeared to wrap up the matter with the chief executive prevailing, a provisional injunction prohibiting the disposal of shares remained in place without a cancellation request. It is understood that the company recently appointed a law firm after the co-founder's side again asserted shareholder rights and an obligation to transfer shares, and it has moved to dispute mediation.
An Afinit official said, "The matter concerns the chief executive's initial equity and is separate from the company's business operations and financial condition," adding, "We are proceeding with the necessary procedures according to the facts, and the key pillars of our listing preparations—such as performance improvement and AI transition—are going ahead as planned."
Meanwhile, a post-listing valuation of more than 500 billion won is being discussed. In a 30 billion won pre-IPO (pre-listing fundraising) round last year, it was already valued at over 370 billion won. Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Smilegate Investment, and Kolon Investment participated as investors.