(Seoul, 30 October 2008) – SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) today announced that it has launched the first commercial mobile financial services with Citibank Hong Kong through Mobile Money Ventures, its joint venture with Citi. Buoyed by the growing market of mobile bankers support from telco operators and handset manufacturers, the company expects its mobile finance technology to take off in the global market.

This builds on SK Telecom’s strong success and expertise in telecom and mobile finance in Korea with popular mobile financial services such as Moneta and M-Bank, which SK Telecom developed for Korean users.

"We are very excited about the commercial launch of mobile banking services in Hong Kong with Citibank. This is the first step in our strategy to provide mobile finance technology for the global market. We expect to see strong demand from consumers and wide adoption of mobile financial services in the worldwide carrier community," said JH Kah, Senior Vice President of Global Biz Company, SK Telecom.

SK Telecom sees great potential for further expansion of the mobile financial platform, especially in areas like North America where currently only simple mobile finance features such as balance management and payment services are offered. 

To target the global market, SK Telecom formed a US$16-million joint venture this year with Citibank called Mobile Money Ventures, which has developed a comprehensive, robust and secure mobile financial services platform that enables financial institutions, carriers  and partners to quickly deliver a rich mobile banking experience to their consumers.

This month, Citibank Hong Kong rolled out its first m-banking services using the platform, which includes local-based stock trading and real-time quote, fund transfers, bill payments, account and credit balance, time deposits, and market and investment news. More services will be launched at a later stage.

"MMV’s solution allows financial institutions and wireless carriers to harness the mobile channel and deliver innovative mobile banking applications to their customer base," said Steve Kietz, CEO of Mobile Money Ventures, and executive vice president of Growth Ventures and Innovation at Citi.  "Our work to develop and deliver a customized mobile banking application that takes advantage of 3G innovations reinforces our mission to help our customers leverage new growth opportunities and increase customer loyalty."