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| The corporate logo of Modern Lion, a joint venture established between Hyundai Card and Like Lion / Courtesy of Hyundai Card |
By Lee Min-hyung
Hyundai Card launched a joint venture to establish a non-fungible token (NFT) trading platform with a local programming education startup, aiming at expanding its presence in the emerging growth area.
The card firm and Like Lion will join hands for the launch of an NFT marketplace and wallet service sometime in the latter half of 2022, Hyundai Card said Tuesday.
The Hyundai affiliate is considered one of the nation's frontrunners in the finance technology business. The company has pushed for a series of blockchain-powered businesses in recent years in areas such as data science and artificial intelligence.
The latest decision came as the NFT is drawing huge popularity as a fresh investment area both in the country and abroad. The NFT refers to a unique digital token that cannot be replicated. The blockchain is a backbone technology for the NFT.
The name of the joint venture is Modern Lion. The word "Modern" symbolizes Hyundai Card, and "Lion" was derived from the corporate name of the startup.
Both sides have yet to fix the specifics over the timeline of the launch of the joint venture. Hyundai Card plans to launch its own NFT after the new company starts its business. Both firms will also engage in a range of NFT-related businesses further down the road.
"When big companies and startups push for a joint business, they should be willing to cooperate with each other on an equal footing," Hyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Tae-young said. "Hyundai Card and Like Lion will do their utmost to maximize synergies by garnering all their capabilities."
Like Lion CEO Lee Doo-hee also pledged to turn the joint venture into a global NFT platform provider by taking advantage of the latest partnership with Hyundai Card.
"We will try our best to make Modern Lion become an influential NFT player and win an outstanding status in the global market," he said.
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