asset-backed commercial papers

Mergers & Acquisitions Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures-backed Good Food For Good (GFFG), operator of South Korea’s popular dessert cafe, Cafe Knotted, will likel...

Beauty & Cosmetics Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

As Korean beauty products continue to captivate global consumers, five Seoul-based cosmetics and wellness companies are gearing up to penetrate deep...

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...

Business & Politics Trump Jr. meets Korean business chiefs in back-to-back sessions

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, spent his one-and-a-half-day visit to South Korea in back-to-back private meetings wi...

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...

Batteries SK On seals $2.8 bn battery deal with Bezos-backed US EV start-up Slate

SK On Co., the battery subsidiary of South Korea’s energy conglomerate SK Group, has signed a supply agreement worth an estimated 4 trillion w...

Mergers & Acquisitions Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank

Kyobo Life Insurance Co. is in the final stages of negotiation with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc. to buy about a 50% stake in SBI Savin...

Earnings KB Financial logs 61% profit growth, rebounding from ELS fiasco

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported a 61% jump in first-quarter profit, led by a nearly threefold rise in earnings at its flagship unit Koo...

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 ...

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...

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...

Private equity EQT set to invest in KKR-backed fashion unicorn Musinsa

EQT, Europe's largest private equity firm, is set to invest 20 billion to 30 billion won ($14 million-$21 million) in Musinsa, South Korea’s f...

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...

Travel & Leisure SoftBank-backed Yanolja raises stake in Modetour as No. 2 shareholder

South Korea’s top travel and accommodation booking platform operator Yanolja Co. has increased its stake in travel agency Modetour Network Inc...

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...

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...

Banking & Finance Hana Financial CEO set for reappointment with foreign investor backing

More than half of the foreign shareholders in Hana Financial Group have thrown their support behind Chief Executive Ham Young-joo for a second term,...

Corporate strategy Hankook Tire seeks to evolve beyond tires, auto parts

Hankook & Company Co., the holding company of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., will ramp up battery production for energy storage systems and ...

Venture capital South Korean VCs back US humanoid robot developer Apptronik

South Korean venture capital firms invested undisclosed tens of billions of won, equivalent to tens of millions of dollars, in US humanoid-developin...

Real estate IGIS puts office tower, 2 nearby hotels on market in bundled sale

Prime office complex AP Tower and two adjacent hospitality properties in Seoul’s Gangnam Business District have been put up for sale in a bu...

Pension funds KB, Samsung SRA, Capstone named NPS’ core property fund operators

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has selected three asset managers to oversee its domestic core real estate platform fund — ...

Real estate BNK's planned acquisition of Hyundai Motor Securities building falters

BNK Asset Management Co.'s bid to acquire the Hyundai Motor Securities building in central Seoul has hit a stumbling block as the main tenant, Hyund...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Korea’s Hanwha Ocean sends USNS Wally Schirra back to theater after MRO

A 210-meter, 40,000-ton US Navy vessel, heavily corroded and weathered from years of service, was pulled into Hanwha Ocean Co.'s shipyard in Ge...

Pension funds NPS to mull responsible investment system for alternative investments

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, is poised to consider expanding its responsible in...