LOTTE Card CEO Kim Chang Kwon

LOTTE Finance, a subsidiary of LOTTE Card, joined Việt Nam’s market in 2018, and in just six months the company has achieved remarkable results. LOTTE CARD CEO shares with Việt Nam News how LOTTE Finance is continuing its parent company’s investment success story in Việt Nam.

More and more Korean businesses are seeking investment opportunities in Việt Nam. As one of the leading Korean investors in Việt Nam, LOTTE Group is increasing its investments every year. How will this investment expansion impact LOTTE Finance's business?

LOTTE Group has become one of the leading Korean investors in Việt Nam, investing in many areas such as hotels, retail, services, construction and agricultural imports. The group also has the most active number of subsidiaries in Việt Nam. After almost 20 years of operation, LOTTE has opened 20 companies in Việt Nam, with total investment of approximately VNĐ40 trillion (US$1.72 billion) in various projects, creating jobs for about 20,000 people.

Currently, the LOTTE Department Store retail system is continuing to invest to become a modern and high-tech shopping model. LOTTE Group is also implementing various projects such as Thủ Thiêm Eco Smart City in HCM City and LOTTE Mall Hanoi with total registered capital of $600 million, among others.

I believe that the expansion and growing investment of LOTTE Group in Việt Nam will pave the way for LOTTE Finance’s success in this market. LOTTE Finance’s success, in return, will play a vital part for the diversification of LOTTE’s Services network and investment portfolio in Việt Nam.

LOTTE Card is known as one of the leading financial companies with the largest services network in Korea. The company is also expanding to Việt Nam. Why do you choose Việt Nam for your international strategy?

Lotte Card is the fifth-largest credit card company in Korea, with 12.7 trillion won in assets. Since entering the industry in 2002, LOTTE Card has grown steadily and become one of the leading financial services provider in the Republic of Korea (RoK) thanks to the support and encouragement of our customers.

Backed by the infrastructure of LOTTE Group, the distribution business has the largest distribution & service network in Korea, and LOTTE Card possesses a wide range of service networks for everyday life across LOTTE Group’s infrastructure, including department stores, hypermarkets, home shopping and cinemas.

We are building the No.1 personal finances network by developing lifestyle financial services that maximize customer value and the consumer friendly infrastructure of LOTTE.

In Việt Nam, LOTTE Card acquired Techcom Finance in March last year. This is the first step to making inroads into Việt Nam's consumer finance market.

In 2009, following the LOTTE Group business expansion strategy, LOTTE Card started to study the business environment in Việt Nam and very soon discovered the potential of the consumer finance industry in this country. The consumer finance market in Việt Nam has been growing in recent years, but still seems to have greater growth potential than other Southeast Asian nations.

Most consumer loans in Việt Nam seem to have focused on home improvements, and there are still very few real loans for durable goods and consumer services. The market is also predicted to expand faster in the future due to rising household consumption and because of the large young population in Việt Nam.

Besides the potential, we saw a lot of challenges in this fast-growing market. Yet we all believed that one day LOTTE Card would enter this market. And today, we are happy that our belief has paid off. Starting in March 2018 with almost nothing, our company now as of end of May 2019 has 500 employees and 10 sales point in nine cities and provinces including Hà Nội and HCM City. By the end of this year, the number of employees is expected to exceed 1,000. 

How will LOTTE Finance benefit from LOTTE Card’s advantages and bring them to Vietnamese customers?

We apply our business philosophy “customer value first” and the years-long success experiences along the way to building LOTTE Finance in Việt Nam.

Like any newcomer to the market, LOTTE Finance has had to cope with many challenges, of which the biggest in consumer finance is risk management. With years of experience inherited from our parent company in South Korea, Lotte Finance takes advantage of our technology foundation to overcome this obstacle. Specifically, we make significant investments in developing an effective underwriting process and customer information appraisal system based on advanced credit management technology like Fintech and Big Data.

The advanced South ­Korean credit management technology and years-long experience in financial services also serves as a solid foundation for our continued challenges and innovations to offer a wide range of unique consumer experiences and financial products tailored to Vietnamese lifestyles.

Therefore, the quality of consumer services is always one of our key points. Lotte Finance has invested heavily in advanced credit management systems to enhance customer satisfaction. We provide consultation services to our customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide customers with clear and necessary information.

To achieve this, we focused on developing and operating friendly and useful communication channels such as Lotte Finance applications, hotlines, web chats and Facebook fan pages where customers can contact us anytime, anywhere.

What is your long term and sustainable commitment to the market?

We pursue sustainable mutual growth. The success of an enterprise is not only proved by its revenue and profit but also by its social contributions and CSR indicators. With LOTTE Corporation, LOTTE Finance would like to become part of social responsibility in various sectors.

Lotte’s consumer finance business has focused on the convenience of customers. Therefore, we are not only providing customers with the benefits from using Lotte’s distribution subsidiaries in Việt Nam, but also offering them financial products for daily activities.

Lotte Card’s entrance to the consumer finance market will help expand access to financial services for Vietnamese people, including middle income earners. Accordingly, we hope more Vietnamese people will be able to enjoy the financial benefits of our services.

We also hope to contribute our experience to Việt Nam’s development regarding payment via cards and mobile phones, Fintech, and doing business on digital platforms.

Lotte Finance will grow with Việt Nam and strive to contribute to society, create jobs and improve the standard of living of the Vietnamese people. We promise to make your life richer and valuable through continuous innovation and change.

Moving forward, we will continue innovating and challenging ourselves to bring more wealth and value to all parties. We wish to become a trusted and beloved financial partner of all Vietnamese people.VNS