Samsung Life sells Commerzbank’s London headquarters for $590 mn

Samsung Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has completed the sale of Commerzbank AG’s London headquarters to Singapore’s property investment firm Wing Tai Holdin...

Hanwha insurance arms net $75 mn from City of London property sale

Two insurance units of South Korea’s Hanwha Group have earned about £57.4 million ($75 million) in capital gains from its £159.2 million investment in...

Korean credit cooperatives picks seasoned insurance asset manager as CIO

MG Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, which manages $50 billion of assets, named Sang-hun Kim, a former managing director and head of...

Construction workers’ fund, insurer in $123 mn deal to buy Denver building

The Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association (CWMA) and a South Korean insurance firm have invested 60 billion won ($56 million) in a 132 billion w...

POBA, Korean insurers to buy $255 mn stake in UK motorway operator

South Korean retirement funds and insurance companies, including the Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA), are set to buy a 20% stake in th...

Anbang Life-backed fund buys Seoul building for $225 mn

A fund led by a South Korean unit of China’s Anbang Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has bought a prime office building in Seoul for 240 billion won ($22...

Samsung, Kyobo Life to buy $129 mn debt of US toll road from IFM Investors

Two of South Korea’s top three life insurers – Samsung and Kyobo – will buy $129 million debt backed by revenues of the Indiana Toll Road Concession C...

Dongbu insurance arms to commit $40 mn to farmland/timberland fund

Two insurance units of South Korea’s Dongbu Group will commit 45 billion won ($40 million) to a timberland and farmland fund managed by Boston-based...

Korean insurers invest $118 mn in US power generation portfolio debt

Five South Korean insurance companies have invested $118 million in senior debt of a portfolio of six US thermal power facilities, which are expected ...

Korean insurers invest $160 mn in debt of Facebook-leased NY property

A group of South Korean insurance firms have invested 180 billion won ($160 million) in mezzanine debt secured on two interconnected buildings in New ...

Korea Post names ex-regulatory official as insurance unit head

Korea Post has appointed a former regulator of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to lead its insurance bureau which manages $44 billion in asset...

Australia archive facility’s 29-yr debt attracts $60 mn from Korean insurers

A group of South Korean insurers will invest 69 billion won ($60 million) in 29-year senior debt secured on Australia’s National Archives Preservati...

Korean savings fund and insurer to buy college building in Sydney at $56 mn

The Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association (CWMAA) will acquire a language center building of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydne...

Hanwha Asset to raise $1 bn from insurance arms to launch global funds

South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management Co. Ltd. will launch three global funds for infrastructure, real estate and private equity investments, with $1 ...

[ASK 2017 SUMMIT Panel Talks] Korean insurers seek co-investment, top-tier GPs

South Korean insurance companies are looking for co-investment in overseas alternatives with general partners, and leaning towards larger GPs in the i...

Samsung Life taps Europe, Chinese investors to sell London building

Samsung Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is sounding out potential buyers in Europe and China for the London headquarters building of Commerzbank AG, 30 Gresha...

Korean insurers invest $102 mn in senior debts of Manhattan building

Three South Korean insurance firms have invested 115 billion won ($102 million) in senior secured debts of a building in Manhattan, New York which is ...

[Interview] Shinhan Life eyes low-volatility investments ahead of new accounting rule

The life insurance arm of South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group will allocate more than 90% of its assets under management to loans and bonds to...

Korea to ease capital reserve rules for insurers’ overseas infrastructure assets

South Korea’s top financial regulator will cut reserve requirements by half for insurance firms’ cross-border infrastructure assets from as early as J...

[Interview] ING Life Korea seeks equity investments in US, Europe core real estate

ING Life Insurance Korea Ltd. sees core office buildings and infrastructure in the US and Europe remaining as attractive targets even in the periods o...

[Interview] Dongbu Insurance shifts eyes to Europe, Australia; farmlands in focus

Dongbu Insurance Co. Ltd. is aiming to diversify its US-focused overseas alternative investments into Europe and Australia because of higher US intere...

[RFP] Korea Post seeks to invest about $90 mn in offshore insurance-linked securities

Korea Post’s savings unit has decided to commit about 100 billion won ($87 mn) to investment firms managing or marketing offshore insurance-linked sec...

[Interview] Lotte’s insurance arm eyes US infrastructure, private debts for low-risk alternatives

Lotte Non-Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a unit of South Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group, is looking to US infrastructure and private debt markets in Europ...

[Interview] NongHyup Life eyes hedge fund, private equity secondary investments

NongHyup Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a unit of South Korea’s agricultural cooperative, will commit an additional 700 billion won ($620 mn) to overseas al...

[Interview] Hanwha Life targets senior secured debt; sees $1 bn net growth in 2017 alternative asset

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. Ltd., which manages 100 trillion won ($87 billion) of assets, will chase senior secured debts of commercial buildings in dev...

[Interview] Mirae Asset Life eyes US power plants, buildings to boost overseas investment

(This is the first in a series of interviews with CIOs of South Korea’s leading insurance companies in 2017.) Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co. Ltd., ...

Korean insurers take bold steps toward buyout, hedge funds

Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. has recently committed €50 million ($53 million) to a €7 billion buyout fund which British private equity...

Korean insurers arrange $550 mn debt refinancing of Brookfield’s NY building

The two insurance arms of South Korea’s agricultural cooperative, Nonghyup Life Insurance Co. Ltd and Nonghyup Property & Casualty Insurance Co. L...

Korea to ease rules on insurers’ currency hedging of offshore investment

South Korea will loosen regulations in relation to the currency hedging of insurance companies’ cross-border investments, which have been blamed to in...

Korean insurers to acquire L’Oréal’s office building near Paris for $500 mn

South Korea’s Vestas Investment Management Co. Ltd. was selected as a preferred buyer of an office building of L’Oréal near Paris late last month, and...