JB Financial Group is pushing ahead with the acquisition of two financial companies in Kyrgyzstan as it moves into the Central Asian market. It plans to extend its overseas business beyond its focus on Southeast Asia and strengthen its auto finance business to target local demand for used-car financing.

JB Financial said on Wednesday its affiliate JB Woori Capital signed a contract with Epoque Co, the parent company of Korky Credit and Korky Leasing in Kyrgyzstan, to buy 100 percent stakes in the two companies.

The two sides plan to complete required procedures, including approvals and registrations from local financial authorities, and close the transaction within this year. Once the acquisition is completed, Korky Credit and Korky Leasing will be incorporated as subsidiaries wholly owned by JB Woori Capital.

JB Financial focused on Kyrgyzstan's economic growth and demographic structure. About 70 percent of the local population is in its 30s or younger, the company said. Recent real gross domestic product growth has also exceeded 10 percent a year. It said it chose the market as a new destination in consideration of the potential for growing demand for financial services.

If the deal is completed, JB Financial's overseas operating bases will rise to 5. The group currently runs businesses centred on a commercial bank in Cambodia, a microfinance company in Myanmar, a securities firm in Vietnam and a specialised credit finance company in Indonesia.

In Kyrgyzstan, it picked auto finance as its top growth area. JB Woori Capital plans to expand financial services related to used-car purchases by combining its auto finance experience in South Korea with the local firms' sales base.

Over the long term, it plans to diversify its business structure, which is focused on finance for individual customers, and secure new sources of revenue in the local market.

A JB Financial official said the investment aims to expand the overseas business base it built in Southeast Asia into Central Asia. The official said the group will apply its auto finance experience to fit the local market and build a stable foundation for growth.