GE Unit Agrees to Invest $663 million in Hyundai Card

By Rhee So-eui, Reuters

The financial unit of General Electric Co. said on Wednesday it would invest $663 million in the credit card arm of Hyundai Motor Co., giving it a foothold in South Korea’s reviving credit card market.

Asia is the fastest growing region for GE’s financial services unit, GE Consumer Finance, which already has interests in auto financing in South Korea.

GE’s new investment comes as global banking giants such as HSBC and Citigroup are eyeing South Korea’s credit card industry, which is returning to health after a consumer credit boom soured in late 2002.

GE Consumer Finance will buy a 43 percent stake in Hyundai Card, South Korea’s third-biggest credit card firm, via a $467 million purchase of old and new shares, along with the purchase of $196 million worth of subordinated bonds, GE and Hyundai said in a joint statement.

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