[IPO Microscope] Hanpass Faces Demand Forecasting: What Lies Beneath Its Explosive Top-Line Growth

Hanpass, a fintech company specializing in overseas remittance services for foreigners, will begin its institutional investor demand forecasting this week. The desired public offering price ranges from 17,000 to 19,000 won per share, with an expected market capitalization of up to approximately 200 billion won. The company plans to go public on the KOSDAQ following the general subscription period scheduled for March 16-17, but there are several matters in the securities registration statement that investors should carefully consider.

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According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on March 4, Hanpass's revenue for 2024 is reported to be approximately 55.3 billion won, representing a sharp 90.6% increase compared to the previous year. This marks explosive growth following 21 billion won in 2022 and 29 billion won in 2023. However, these figures include the effects of several changes in accounting policies. During the auditor switch process in 2023 (from Daejoo to Deloitte Anjin), Hanpass revised its 2022 financial statements. Around 2.4 billion won in sales promotion expenses was reclassified as sales allowances (deducted from operating income), and starting in 2024, foreign exchange gains and losses are recognized on a gross rather than net basis, which has expanded the scale of reported revenue. Hanpass explained, "The year-on-year revenue growth rate for 2024 appears higher than the actual growth rate, excluding the effects of the accounting changes, resulting in a misleading effect."

In 2024, Hanpass engaged in short-term borrowing and repayment totaling 53.7 billion won from CEO Kim Kyunghoon personally. Including Hanpass International (5.6 billion won) and Hanpass Capital (12.8 billion won), both controlled by CEO Kim, a total of 72.1 billion won in related-party funds circulated within a single year. This amount far exceeds half of the company’s total assets, which stand at approximately 113.8 billion won. While short-term borrowing is sometimes necessary for operational reasons, it is considered unusual for the CEO of a company with 113.8 billion won in total assets to borrow 53.7 billion won personally. This has raised concerns about the blurred boundaries between the controlling shareholder’s personal and corporate finances. In response, Hanpass stated, "There have been instances in the past where temporary borrowings were made from the largest shareholder and related parties to secure working capital during holidays, but these have now been replaced by credit lines from financial institutions," adding, "All transactions with affiliated companies are conducted based on business necessity."

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For IPO pricing, Hanpass selected Galaxia Moneytree, Thezen, and Finger as peer group companies and applied an average PER of 29.4 times. While it is understandable that truly comparable competitors such as Eninepay, G Money Trans, and Global Money Express (GME) are all unlisted, there are still lingering questions in the market. In the case of Thezen, its IPO price in March 2025 fell below even the lower end of the desired price band due to weak demand forecasting. Its current stock price also remains below the IPO price, leading to views that it is not an appropriate peer. Another peer, Galaxia Moneytree, primarily focuses on electronic payments (PG), O2O, and simple payment services, making it quite different from Hanpass, whose core business is overseas remittance.

In May 2024, during the sale of existing shares by a specific group, Hanpass voluntarily reported to the Financial Supervisory Service in August 2025 that it had violated deemed public offering regulations under the Capital Markets Act. The company had not submitted a securities registration statement, despite the fact that there were more than 49 actual investors solicited. An investigation is currently underway, and the company has disclosed the possibility of a fine being imposed. As the Financial Supervisory Service has identified this type of violation as a "representative case" and announced plans to take strict measures in its 2026 report on disclosure violations, investors need to pay close attention to the level and timing of possible sanctions.

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