Kyobo Life Group Jumps into STO, Attracts Attention with Extensive Cooperation

Kyobo Securities, DT Strategy Department established to promote new business last year
Collaborated with the fragmented investment industry such as Lucent Block and Tessa
Kyobo Life Insurance and Japan SBI Group, ‘join hands’ on new STO business
“STO TF team at the group level planned to operate in the third quarter”

This article has been translated into English through AI.

[Edaily Marketin Reporter Kim Yeon-seo] Recently, Kyobo Life Insurance Group is making various preparations for entering the token securities (Security Token) business. With Kyobo Securities at the forefront, affiliates within the group are entering the STO (Token Securities Issuance) business one after another, and it seems that they are looking for a new pipeline.

According to the STO industry on the 5th, affiliates within the group, including Kyobo Securities, Kyobo Life Insurance, and Kyobo Bookstore, are busy preparing for the token securities business. Kyobo Life Insurance Group plans to form a task force (TF) related to the STO business at the end of July. This is interpreted as a strategy to increase business competitiveness in the digital finance sector by entering the new business.

Currently, Kyobo Life Insurance Group’s STO-related business entity is the Digital Asset Business Part of Kyobo Securities’ DT Strategy Department. Kyobo Securities established the DT Strategy Department in July of last year and began to discover future growth engines including STO. The DT Strategy Department was newly established to accelerate digital innovation and promote new digital businesses, and is in charge of future growth engines such as token securities (STO), MyData, and digital platforms.

Kyobo Securities has also established various collaborative relationships with fragmented investment companies. Kyobo Securities and Lucent Block are cooperating in the following areas: △ launching dedicated investment products, △ linking investment channels using MyData services, △ collaborating on non-face-to-face account opening processes, and △ joint marketing partnerships. In November 2021, Kyobo Securities formed the ‘Kyobo New Technology Investment Association No. 1’ to enter the digital ecosystem and made a strategic investment in Lucent Block.

Fragmented investment platform Tessa is preparing to discover new business models and expand its business with Kyobo Bookstore. Tessa was previously selected for the Kyobo Life Group’s ‘Solid Program’ in conjunction with the ‘2024 Startup Leap Package Large Company Collaboration Program’ of the Startup Promotion Agency under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Through this, the plan is to discover new business models with Kyobo Bookstore and to cooperate with each other to provide various business expansion opportunities.

Recently, Kyobo Life Group signed a business agreement with Japan’s SBI Group to strengthen cooperation in the digital finance sector. Japan’s SBI Group is a representative digital finance group in Japan with subsidiaries in banking, insurance, and securities in 25 countries around the world.

Kyobo Life Group and Japan’s SBI Group decided to explore new business opportunities in the digital finance sector, such as creating a domestic digital finance ecosystem and forming a joint consortium for token securities business. They plan to select tasks related to the issuance and distribution network of token securities and conduct joint research.

An STO industry insider explained, “Domestic securities companies are expanding their influence by making equity investments in or acquiring fragmented investment companies,” and “It is noticeable that most of them are focusing on promoting new STO businesses by establishing consortiums or dedicated departments.”

He added, “As the size of the global tokenized digital securities market is expected to grow to 4-5 trillion dollars by 2030, the domestic financial investment industry is also jumping into the STO market as a sure future food source.”

A Kyobo Securities official said, “The STO business at the Kyobo Life Group level has not been specified yet, but we plan to form a TF with the participation of affiliates within the third quarter of this year.”