European banking firm BNP Paribas has acquired a 5.6% stake in Shinhan Financial Group from the Korean government, a move which increases its equity interest in Shinhan to 9.4%.
Before this acquisition, BNP Paribas held 3.8% of Shinhan Financial Group’s share capital, most of which had been acquired since 2001 when the Korean firm was created and listed on the stock exchange.
Shinhan Financial Group and BNP Paribas own two joint subsidiaries in the asset management and insurance sectors which distribute their products within the Shinhan network and are growing sharply.
BNP said that its investment amounted to around E800 million.