(28 June 2006 – South Korea) GE Consumer Finance will sell its South Korean consumer finance business to Hyundai Capital Services.GE Consumer is the second largest shareholder in auto financing company Hyundai Capital and invested more than US$1 billion in a 43 percent stake in the company and its credit card unit.
Both financial firms are divisions of South Korea’s number one car maker Hyundai Motor.
GE said existing accounts and contracts, including auto finance, would be managed by GE and would not be part of the deal.
“The transfer of the consumer finance operation to Hyundai Capital Services streamlines GE Consumer Finance’s presence in the market and bolsters Hyundai’s ambition to become a leading consumer finance company in Korea,” GE said.
Although GE wants to develop a banking business in South Korea, it has been handicapped because of regulatory requirements, with the business restricted to credit loans and auto financing.