With Hanwha Group having dropped out, Hana Financial Group has emerged as a strong bidder for ownership of Lotte Card -- a development that portends major shifts in South Korea’s credit card business.

Last week, Hana Financial and two private equity funds officially joined the bidding process to acquire Lotte Card. Hanwha, which had shown an interest in the deal, did not enter the bidding, leaving Hana as the sole big-name financial corporation in the race.

If Hana Financial ends up acquiring Lotte Card, it will be a major boost to the group’s credit card business as Hana Card now stands in seventh place in the sector in terms of market share, according to tracking data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

With the addition of Lotte Card, currently the fifth-largest in the card sector according to the FSS, Hana’s credit card business would rise to the No. 2 position. 

(jys@heraldcorp.com)