Platform Partners Asset Management

Airlines Korea’s Sono to sell Air Premia stake to focus on another LCC

South Korea's top resort operator Sono Hospitality Group has decided to sell its entire stake in low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Premia Inc. at a profit ...

Pension funds NPS yet to schedule external manager selection; PE firms’ fundraising woes deepen

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has yet to decide on a plan to select local extern...

Real estate Mirae Asset to be named Korea Post’s core real estate fund operator

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is set to manage the mandate of more than 600 billion won ($416.8 million) in core real estate fund investment by...

Business & Politics US tariffs add risk premium to dollar assets: Maurice Obstfeld

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US tariff increases are adding risk premiums to dollar-denominated assets, undermining the dollar’s role as a glo...

Asset management Mirae Asset bets on China as Korean investors’ US focus draws concern

South Korea’s leading asset manager Mirae Asset Financial Group is increasingly unveiling China-focused investment products as Chairman P...

Earnings S.Korea’s top 4 financial holding firms cheer upbeat Q1 results

South Korea’s top four financial holding companies – Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori – reported stellar earnings for the first quarter...

Alternative investments Meritz backs half of ex-manager’s $210 mn hedge fund

Meritz Financial Group Inc., one of South Korea’s most aggressive alternative asset managers, has committed 150 billion won ($105 million) to ...

Shareholder activism Activist fund Oasis boosts Korea team amid investor-friendly policy shift

Hong Kong-based activist fund Oasis Management is ramping up hiring for its Korea team as Seoul’s push to boost corporate value and strengthen...

Mergers & Acquisitions DB Insurance becomes Daol Investment’s No.2 shareholder

DB Insurance Co., a leading South Korean non-life insurance company, has become Daol Investment & Securities Co.'s second-largest shareholder af...

Real estate Ritz-Carlton to return to Seoul, tapped by IGIS Asset for landmark project

IGIS Asset Management Co., South Korea’s leading real estate investment firm, has named The Ritz-Carlton the preferred hotel brand for its amb...

E-commerce Naver, Kurly tie up to counter e-commerce giant Coupang

South Korea’s online giant Naver Corp. and dawn grocery platform service provider Kurly Inc. have joined forces for a potential stake acquisit...

Asset management Mirae Asset’s default option retirement funds top $700 mn in assets

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. now manages over one-third of South Korea’s default-option retirement funds, with the assets it operates un...

Pension funds NPS gears up for investment overhaul with boost in risk assets

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the country’s largest institutional investor, is set to overhaul its investment strategy w...

Real estate Colliers to lead $689 million sale of IGIS Asset-owned Signature Tower

Colliers Korea, a unit of global real estate asset management group Colliers, has been chosen as the adviser for the sale of Signature Tower in cent...

Bio & Pharma ABL Bio lands $2.8 billion license-out deal with GSK

ABL Bio Inc., a South Korean biotech company, will license out its proprietary blood-brain barrier shuttle platform, called the Grabody-B, to UK-bas...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc faces multiple legal, regulatory challenges in fight against MBK

Korea Zinc Inc. Chairman Choi Yun-birm appears to have kept his grip on the world’s largest zinc smelter after successfully fending off an MBK...

Alternative investments Korean financial firms face growing risks in overseas property investments

South Korea’s financial institutions are increasingly at risk of their overseas real estate investments turning sour, government data showed o...

E-commerce Luxury fashion platform Balaan files for court receivership amid slump

South Korea’s top luxury goods e-commerce platform Balaan Co. said on Monday it has filed for corporate rehabilitation with a Seoul court as t...

Shareholder activism STIC Investments draws activist interest, including Align Partners

STIC Investments Inc., South Korea’s only listed private equity firm, has become the latest target of shareholder activism as Seoul-based Alig...

Entertainment SM Entertainment acquires additional 11.4% stake in DearU for $9.2 mn

SM Entertainment Co., South Korea’s music powerhouse behind internationally popular boy and girl bands like EXO and aespa, has acquired an add...

Retail Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Until recently, it was not unusual to see people waiting in a long line in front of foreign haute couture brands’ stores early in the morning ...

Pension funds Global assets drive Korean teachers' fund to 11.1% return in 2024

The Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU) achieved an 11.1% return on investments in 2024, with overseas portfolios in stocks, infrastructure a...

Real estate Warburg Pincus-Wide Creek Asset JV picks up 2nd Korean logistics asset

US private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC and South Korean real estate manager Wide Creek Asset Management Co. are building a logistics center for l...

Energy Alaska governor seeks Korean partners for $44 bn LNG project

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy arrived in South Korea on Monday to hold a series of one-on-one meetings with top executives from Korean energy and st...

Cryptocurrencies BlackRock sees digital assets at critical turning point

Digital assets are poised for robust structural growth – not just as investment vehicles but as strategic assets – fueled by growing ins...

Banking & Finance Hana Asset Management to merge with Hana Alternative Asset

Hana Financial Group, the parent of Hana Bank and Hana Securities Co, will merge its two asset management arms to bolster its non-banking services, ...

Pension funds S.Korea’s NPS to double pension fund size by 2050, hike risky assets

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) is projected to nearly double its fund size to 3,500 trillion won ($2.38 trillion) by 2050, follo...

Real estate Shinhan REITs picked as sole bidder for BNK Digital Tower

Shinhan REITs Management is expected to acquire BNK Digital Tower, an office building in the affluent neighborhood of Gangnam in southern Seoul, aft...

Mergers & Acquisitions Daol PE buys Youngil Glass to ride Korean cosmetics boom

Daol Private Equity has acquired Youngil Glass Industry Co., a South Korean manufacturer of glass containers, in a 65 billion won ($44.5 million) de...

Mergers & Acquisitions JPMorgan, Jefferies picked to manage TaylorMade Golf sale

Centroid Investment Partners, a Seoul-based private equity firm, has selected JPMorgan and Jefferies as lead managers for the sale of TaylorMade Gol...