July exports bode ill for S. Korea’s trade

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s July exports so far have plunged 21.6 percent from a year ago, fueling worries that exports will continue to spiral in the second half of the year. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports between July 1 and July 10 came in at about US$ 10.35 billion, down 21.6 percent compared to the same period last year. From Jan. 1 to July 10, the country’s exports dropped 10.5 percent from a year ago to come in at US$ 252.1 billion. Until June, South Korea’s monthly expor

July 11, 2016

NPS picks BlackRock, GCM Grosvenor to manage hedge funds

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s National Pension Service -- the world’s third-largest public pension fund -- has selected Blackrock and GCM Grosvenor as general partners for managing 1 trillion won worth of hedge funds.This is 0.2 percent of the 500 trillion won (US$428.2 billion) of NPS’ assets under management. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset management firm that more than US$ 4.65 trillion AUM. GCM has invested over US$45 billion in hedge funds, private equity, real estate and infrastruct

July 11, 2016

MBK Partners recoups record US$3.3b from investments

[THE INVESTOR] MBK Partners has recouped a record amount from its investments over the past two years since July 2014, industry sources said on July 10.Since June 2014, MBK Partners -- South Korea’s largest PEF -- managed to recoup US$3.3 billion by selling equity and driving up dividends from its past investments. MBK Partners founder and chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim When including the returns from other projects MBK jointly invested in, such as with South Korea’s National Pension Fund, Singap

July 11, 2016