丹尼·托马斯和哈拉姆·林韩国银行和保险公司正积极寻找海外交易，以提升增长。在三星电子株式会社、现代汽车株式会社等企业打造全球业务版图之际，韩国金融业此前大多深耕本土，如今正呈现出更广泛的海外转向。
By Denny Thomas and Haram Lim South Korean banks and insurers are hunting for overseas deals to lift growth, signaling a broader outward turn by an industry that largely stayed home while companies including Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. built global businesses.
人口快速老龄化以及国内市场趋于成熟，正推动韩国金融集团走出国门。凭借稳健的资产负债表，它们正在四处寻觅投资机会，范围从美国的保险和退休业务到亚洲各地的银行及消费金融公司，为该行业迄今规模最大的一些海外投资铺路。
A rapidly aging population and a mature domestic market are pushing Korean financial groups to head out. Backed by strong balance sheets, they are scouring investments ranging from US insurance and retirement businesses to banks and consumer-finance companies across Asia, setting the stage for some of the industry’s biggest foreign bets yet.
这一转向可能较为审慎，不会演变成挥霍式扩张。韩国企业高管正研究日本金融机构数十年的海外扩张历程，希望复制其成功经验，同时避开新兴亚洲市场部分投资伴随的高价收购和艰难整合。
This move is likely to be measured, rather than turn into a spending spree. Korean executives are studying the decades-long overseas expansion of Japanese financial institutions, hoping to replicate their successes while dodging the costly acquisitions and difficult integrations that accompanied some investments in emerging Asia.
“由于国内市场成熟、人口结构不断恶化，韩国金融公司走出国门几乎已不可避免，”里昂证券常驻首尔的研究主管沈钟民说，“但历史表明，在海外单纯购买增长可能毁掉资本。”沈钟民补充道。
“Going overseas is becoming almost unavoidable for Korean financial firms because the domestic market is mature and demographics are deteriorating,” said Jongmin Shim, Seoul-basedhead of research at CLSA Securities. “But history shows that simply buying growth abroad can destroy capital,” Shim added.
虽然跨境交易对韩国企业而言并非全新事物，但此次可能达到的规模截然不同。如今，许多企业并未直接收购 unfamiliar 企业的控股权，而是寻求少数股权投资和合作，以便在扩大投资前先积累专业能力。
While cross-border dealmaking is not entirely new for Korean firms, thepotential scale is different this time. Rather than buying control of unfamiliar businesses outright, many are looking at minority stakes and partnerships that let them build expertise before increasing their investments.
这一转变在三星集团最为明显。该集团旗下两家最大的保险公司正考虑进行海外投资，体现出其日益增强的雄心以及更为谨慎的策略。
The shift is clearest at Samsung Group, where its two biggest insurers are considering overseas investments that illustrate both growing ambition and a more deliberate approach.
据韩国媒体报道，三星人寿保险公司（Samsung Life Insurance Co.）正寻求收购美国资产管理公司信安金融集团（Principal Financial Group Inc.）约百分之十几的股份，这笔交易价值可能高达6万亿韩元（约合44亿美元）。三星人寿表示，公司正在评估国内外各种机会以寻找新的增长引擎，但补充称目前尚未做出任何决定。信安金融的一位代表未回复彭博新闻社的置评请求。
Samsung Life Insurance Co. is looking to buy a mid-teens stake in US asset-management firm Principal Financial Group Inc. in a deal that could be worth up to 6 trillion won ($4.4 billion), Korean media reported. Samsung Life said it is reviewing various opportunities at home and overseas to secure new growth engines but added that nothing has been decided. A representative for Principal did not reply to a Bloomberg News request for comment.
全球交易撮合者正密切关注这一趋势，一些人前往首尔的频率日益增加。一位通常每年访问韩国两次的资深行业银行家在2026年已经进行了五次访问，并预计在年底前还会再次前往。该高管要求在讨论私人计划时不具名。
Global dealmakers are taking notice of the trend, with some increasingly stopping in Seoul. One senior industry banker who typically visits South Korea twice a year has already made five trips in 2026 and expects to return before year-end. The executive asked not to be identified discussing private plans.
JB金融集团（JB Financial Group Co.）近期获得了印尼监管机构的批准，将收购KB Bukopin Finance 85%的股份。三星火灾海上保险公司（Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co.）和未来资产证券（Mirae Asset Securities Co.）也表示正在考察投资机会。另有报道称，KB国民银行（KB Kookmin Bank）可能是越南Techcombank股份的潜在买家。
JB Financial Group Co. recently won Indonesian regulatory approval to acquire 85% of KB Bukopin Finance. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and Mirae Asset Securities Co. have said they are examining investment opportunities. KB Kookmin Bank has separately been reported as a possible buyer of a stake in Vietnam’s Techcombank.
KB国民银行发言人告诉彭博新闻社，Techcombank是该行正在评估的几个潜在目标之一，但表示目前尚未进行具体的股份收购谈判。
A KB Kookmin spokesperson told Bloomberg News that Techcombank is among several potential targets the bank is reviewing, but said there are no concrete stake purchase talks underway.
花旗集团（Citigroup Inc.）亚太区投资银行业务主管考斯图布·库尔卡尼（Kaustubh Kulkarni）表示：“越来越多的韩国银行和财产保险公司也寻求在海外发展。”他指出，从人工智能到韩国美妆等各行业的公司都在向海外扩张。
“More Korean banks and general insurance companies are looking to grow overseas too,” said Kaustubh Kulkarni, Asia-Pacific head of investment banking at Citigroup Inc., pointing to a raft of companies from artificial intelligence to K-beauty industries making the move offshore.
这一新兴战略在很大程度上借鉴了日本的经验。面对如今韩国企业所面临的诸多相同压力，日本的银行和保险公司花费了数十年时间在海外扩张。保险公司在美国取得了特别的成功，而一些在亚洲新兴市场的投资则喜忧参半。
The emerging strategy owes much to Japan’s experience. Faced with many of the same pressures now confronting Korean firms, Japanese banks and insurers spent decades expanding abroad. Insurers found particular success in the US, while some investments in emerging Asia produced more mixed results.
例如，东京海上控股公司通过一系列收购，从一家以国内业务为主的保险公司转型为全球性企业，如今海外业务已占其盈利的很大一部分。
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., for example, transformed itself from a predominantly domestic insurer into a global player through a series of acquisitions, with overseas operations now accounting for a large share of its earnings.
这位曾就若干并购交易向东京海上提供建议的行业银行家表示，许多韩国保险公司都在研究日本同行，思考如何成为“韩国版东京海上”。
A lot of the Korean insurance companies are studying Japanese peers and asking how they can become the ‘Tokio Marine of Korea,’ said the industry banker, who advised the Japanese insurer on some past deals.
三星生命若进行任何潜在投资，都将是一次重大的美国市场押注，而不是投资于一直受到韩国金融机构青睐、快速增长的新兴亚洲市场。
Any potential investment by Samsung Life would mark a significant bet on the US, rather than on fast-growing emerging Asian markets that have traditionally attracted Korean financial institutions.
三星火灾海上保险则采取了另一种版本的战略。据韩国媒体报道，该保险公司于2019年向劳合社专业保险公司卡诺皮乌斯集团有限公司投资1.5亿美元，随后于2025年将持股比例提高至40%，目前正考虑将持股比例进一步提升至90%。该公司表示，尚未作出任何具体决定。卡诺皮乌斯未回应彭博新闻社的置评请求。
Samsung Fire & Marine offers another version of the strategy. After investing $150 million in Lloyd’s specialist Canopius Group Ltd. in 2019, the insurer increased its holding to 40% in 2025 and is now considering raising its stake to 90%, according to Korean media reports. The insurer said no specific decision has been made. Canopius did not respond to a query from Bloomberg News seeking comment.
标普全球评级亚太区金融服务评级主管艾米丽·伊表示，三星火灾海上保险雄厚的资本实力应为“未来两年逐步扩大海外业务提供充足空间”，同时拒绝评论该公司可能的投资目标。
Samsung Fire’s capital strength should provide “sufficient capacity for gradual overseas business expansion over the next two years,” said Emily Yi, director of financial services ratings for Asia-Pacific at S&P Global Ratings, while declining to comment on the firm’s potential targets.
日本的经验并非全是正面的。包括三菱日联金融集团和三井住友金融集团在内的一些银行，为东南亚业务付出了高额估值，后来随着收购目标的股价下跌，只能计提巨额减值。
Japan’s lessons are not all positive. Some banks including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., paid rich valuations for Southeast Asian franchises, only to book huge impairment charges later as theirtargets’ share prices fell.
韩国金融机构也有自己的惨痛教训。KB国民银行于2018年收购印尼布科平银行22%的股份，并在两年后取得控制权，但此后仍不得不追加资本，以稳定该银行并重振增长。
Korean institutions have painful lessons of their own. KB Kookmin Bank acquired a 22% stake in Indonesia’s Bank Bukopin in 2018 and took control two years later, only to pour in more capital to stabilize the lender and revive growth.
这些经历可能会促使企业采取更为审慎的选择策略。韩国最大的金融集团已在东南亚地区深耕十余年，印度和越南等市场凭借其增长潜力依然具有吸引力。但贷款机构正日益关注盈利能力，而非单纯扩大海外业务版图。
Those experiences are likely to encourage a more selective approach. Korea’s largest financial groups have spent more than a decade building businesses across Southeast Asia, and markets such as India and Vietnam remain attractive for their growth potential. But lenders are increasingly focused on profitability rather than simply expanding their overseas footprint.
韩国金融研究院高级研究员朴海锡（Haesik Park）在近期的一份报告中写道，收购成熟外国金融机构的股份，能让韩国企业快速获得客户、分销网络和当地专业知识，同时降低进入新市场过程中的试错成本。
Still, buying stakes in established foreign financial institutions can give Korean firms quick access to customers, distribution networks and local expertise while reducing the trial and error involved in entering a new market, Haesik Park, senior research fellow at Korea Institute of Finance, wrote in a recent report.
随着投资者对更强的盈利能力和更高的股息及股票回购给予，韩国金融股估值已获重估，这提高了企业考虑进行昂贵海外收购的门槛。
Korean financial stocks have re-rated as investors rewarded stronger profitability and increased dividends and buybacks, raising the hurdle for firms considering expensive acquisitions abroad.
“正因如此，企业必须专注于利润。股东不希望看到他们出国去碰运气，”沈表示。
“That’s why the companies need to be focused on profit. Shareholders don’t want to see them going overseas for a random lottery ticket,” Shim said.