Shinsegae Group goes asset-light in e-commerce push

South Korea's Shinsegae Group is looking to sell the headquarters building of its supermarket chain E-Mart Inc. for about 1 trillion won ($883 milli...

NPS buys Australian building for $900 mn to diversify investment

South Korea’s national pension fund bought an office building in Australia for almost $900 million, which would be its largest investment in t...

Morgan Stanley tops S.Korea's H1 M&A league table

Morgan Stanley topped South Korea's M&A advisor league table in the first half of this year, working on six buyout deals worth a combined 9.75 t...

POBA CIO advises against traditional asset mix, definition

Rapid technological change that is blurring the lines between industries has altered the definition of asset classes, forcing investment managers to...

BOK ratchets up warning over asset price bubble, private debt

The recent asset price rises in South Korea, in particular in the equities and real estate markets, have been too rapid, even considering an expecte...

POBA eyes life science buildings, student housing in Europe via SMA

South Korea's Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) is targeting life science buildings, last-mile distribution centers and student housing fa...

Coupang fire may cut ROI of warehouse assets

Last week’s devastating fire at a Coupang distribution center, which reportedly burned down more than 16 million items for delivery, is expect...

Samsung Asset in $12.4 bn oil pipeline stake purchase

South Korea's Samsung Asset Management Co. has participated in a $12.4 billion acquisition of a 49% stake in Aramco Oil Pipelines Co., a unit of Sau...

Korean institutions ranked top US liquidity provider under 2020 TALF

South Korean institutional investors, including the Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) and Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid Fund, emerged as the ...

Hyundai, Kia outrival Japanese carmakers in India, other emerging markets

India, one of the world’s fastest-growing auto markets, has for decades been dominated by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., which runs Maruti ...

POBA commits over $200 mn to Europe-focused real estate SMA

South Korea's Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) has committed 270 billion won ($240 million) to a separately managed account (SMA) focusin...

IMM Investment eyes $900 mn infrastructure fund launch

IMM Investment Corp., a South Korean alternative investment firm, is planning to raise 1 trillion won ($900 million) for its new infrastructure fund...

AI edtech startup Buzzvil readies for 2022 listing; hires IPO manager

South Korea-based artificial intelligence startup Buzzvil is preparing to make a trading debut on the country’s junior bourse Kosdaq in the th...

Korea FoF manager widens offshore VC pool into UAE, Vietnam

The Korea Venture Investment Corp. (KVIC), a quasi-government agency established to support South Korean startups and venture capital industry, has ...

NPS gains timberland, Europe tech exposure in Q1

The National Pension Service has gained exposure to timberland and the European mid-market tech sector in the first quarter of this year, adding two...

ADT Caps hires IPO managers to speed up 2021 listing

ADT Caps Co., South Korea's No. 2 security services provider, has appointed Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and NH Investment & Securities Co. to ...

Citibank alludes to S.Korean retail business closure

Citibank Korea will begin to examine ways to gradually liquidate its consumer banking business as it faces difficulties in selling the retail operat...

Shinhan REITs poised to buy Amazon logistics center

South Korea's Shinhan REITs Management Co. is poised to invest $93 million to buy a pre-completed fulfillment center in New Mexico, under a long-ter...

How India is becoming 'heaven' for Korean startups

India is becoming an attractive destination for South Korean startups that are eyeing overseas expansion, given the country's vast population and di...

NPS to take longer-term approach to asset allocation

The National Pension Service is planning to build an investment portfolio with a longer-term perspective for a period of at least 10 years, shifting...

Reading the air

For the past 18 years I have worked in East Asia, four of them here in Korea and the last ten for the Swiss national trade and investment agency calle...

Lotte Chem in hydrogen deal with Air Liquide, invests $185 mn in materials

South Korea’s Lotte Chemical Corp. is diversifying into electric vehicle raw materials and hydrogen businesses as new growth drivers, moving a...

Hyundai becomes India’s top SUV seller, wins Indian Car of the Year Award

Hyundai Motor Group’s small and compact sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are posting strong sales in fast-growing economies including India and R...

Heavy household borrowing fans Korea’s asset market overheating

South Korea’s asset market is showing signs of overheating as households take out fresh loans at a record pace to invest in initial share sale...

CVC names ex-Affinity Equity top manager as Korea head

CVC Capital Partners has appointed Chris Rhee, a former partner of Affinity Equity Partners, as its Seoul office head and global partner, according ...

LG Electronics, Mirae Asset to launch $90 mn fund to invest in startups

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. and Mirae Asset Group have agreed to launch a 100 billion won ($90 million) joint venture-capital fund to he...

Mirae Asset to launch $900 mn US logistics fund

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is set to launch a 1 trillion won ($900 million) blind pool fund to invest in US logistics facilities, into which...

SoftBank-backed Balance Hero raises $10 mn in debt funding from India

South Korean fintech startup Balance Hero has raised around $10 million in debt funding led by the India-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) ...

BofA replaces Korea IB head, country manager

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) has named managing director Cho Chanhee as its South Korean investment banking head to replace Park SeungGu who...

BOK posts record 2020 net income on higher foreign asset gains

The Bank of Korea paid the second-highest amount of tax revenue in the country last year, trailing only Samsung Electronics Co., after the South Kor...