South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments is poised to carry out a backdoor listing to start trading on the domestic stock market in December, a filing showed Sunday.  Following the move, STIC Investments will become the first Seoul-based private equity investment manager to be listed in three years. Seoul is home to high-profile buyout powerhouses including MBK Partners, Hahn & Co. and IMM Private Equity -- none of which are listed on the stock market. According to the f

Market Oct. 17, 2021

Sydney-based investment manager Alceon has raised a combined 55 billion won ($46.3 million) of capital from a South Korean institutional investor for its nonbank loan strategies designed to finance Australian real estate development projects. Alceon‘s senior debt vehicle, named Alceon Australian Real Estate Corporate Senior Loan Fund, received capital from Korean allocator ABL Life Insurance from last year until September, bringing its fund under management to A$383 million ($283 million)

Market Oct. 14, 2021

South Korean day traders are expressing frustration over the bearish domestic stock market in early October, in the belief that short selling by institutional investors is adding fuel to the market volatility. As of Wednesday, a public petition calling for a complete ban on short selling activities in Korea’s stock market had gained nearly 49,000 endorsements within a week, in another major collective action unfolding on presidential office Cheong Wa Dae’s website. The unnamed pe

Market Oct. 13, 2021

New York-based property technology startup Market Stadium has raised 1 billion won ($834,400) in seed funding from venture capital houses in South Korea and abroad, the company said Tuesday. Taking part in the latest rounding were early-stage VC Kakao Ventures, financial backer Shinhan Capital and California-based Primer Sazze Partners. Angel investors including John Kim, co-founder of messaging-as-a-service startup Sendbird; and Scott Robinson, a clinical assistant professor at New York Unive

Market Oct. 12, 2021

Eastspring Asset Management Korea said Tuesday that its incumbent Chief Executive Officer Park Chun-woong would serve a fourth term and remain in office until 2024. The decision was made in a shareholders meeting Friday, according to the company, which is fully owned by London-based insurance firm Prudential. Park took the helm at Eastspring’s South Korean unit in 2012. Its assets under management came to 11.5 trillion won ($9.6 billion) as of end-September, the 20th-highest amount fo

Market Oct. 12, 2021

South Korean financial technology unicorn Viva Republica said Friday it has signed a deal to acquire a controlling 60 percent stake in mobility firm VCNC, known for premium ride-hailing app Tada, in its new rights offering. Viva Republica, which offers various financial services under its flagship Toss brand, said the takeover is aimed at expanding its financial services business and overhauling Tada’s embattled mobility service by the end of this year, the company said in a statement.

Market Oct. 8, 2021

South Korea’s top financial regulator has pledged to reexamine a deal involving technology giant Naver during the parliamentary audit, highlighting a relentless push for a nationwide tech crackdown. On Wednesday, Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom said he would “examine the feasibility of the deal,” referring to a share-for-share exchange deal between internet giant Naver and investment bank Mirae Asset Securities four years prior. The pledge comes amid c

Market Oct. 7, 2021

South Korean activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement has bought 100 billion won ($84 million) in exchangeable bonds issued by weapon system developer LIG Nex1, a filing showed Wednesday. The investment is aimed at improving LIG Nex1’s performance under the criteria of environmental, social and governance responsibility and giving birth to LIG Nex1’s new line of business, according to KCGI. The investment manager did not elaborate on its future ESG strategy for the defe

Market Oct. 6, 2021

South Korea-domiciled investors went on to sell Tesla stocks during the third quarter of this year, and instead turned to health care stocks in the United States, data showed Wednesday. This indicates that Korean investors’ enthusiasm over the growth potential of the Palo Alto, California-based electric vehicle giant since early 2020 has started to wane. Instead, they were seen betting on normalization hopes amid a fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. From July to September, Korean inv

Market Oct. 6, 2021

South Korea-based private equity firm Hahn & Co. is poised to cash in on 306.6 billion won ($258.1 million) from an initial public offering of a fully-owned secondhand car retailer K Car on Wednesday, according to a prospectus Tuesday. The deal is aimed at floating Hahn & Co.’s 25.5 percent stake, or 12.3 million shares, in K Car, plus 1.2 million new shares. The IPO price of K Car, which is valued at 1.2 trillion won, has been fixed at 25,000 won apiece. Hahn & Co.’s

Market Oct. 5, 2021

South Korean business magnates are gearing up for initial public offerings of conglomerates’ affiliates, in an apparent bid to allow their siblings to cash in on their stock holdings from the proposed exit under the respective business succession plans. Market watchers perceive the moves as the chance to give cash-hungry siblings options to solidify legitimate control over the family-owned conglomerates here, which include buying shares in the group’s key affiliate that stands on t

Market Oct. 4, 2021

South Korean investors’ focus could be on multitenant commercial properties as they have greater room for improvement than single-tenant properties under their traditional low-risk strategy amid prospects for post-pandemic uncertainties, a research paper showed Monday. Such assets can help Korean outbound investors seek extra income from investment and stay resilient from economic uncertainties that arise from a projected interest rate hike across the world in the wake of the pandemic re

Market Oct. 4, 2021

South Korean public financing institutions have played down the impact of liquefied natural gas on climate change, according to climate activist group Solutions for Our Climate on Thursday. Greenhouse gases are being emitted throughout the liquefied natural gas supply chain -- from extraction to liquefaction, transportation, regasification and consumption -- said the climate activists during an event held in Seoul. “The threat of greenhouse gas emission from the liquefied natural

Market Sept. 30, 2021

More homegrown late-stage venture capital investing is crucial to spurring South Korean startups to be able to scale up and innovative for job creation and economic development, which will ultimately lead to a windfall for investors, head of Seoul-based unicorn Kurly said Thursday. “Once a startup achieves a scale-up at a certain point, the value it can create is immense,” Sophie Kim, founder and chief executive officer, said during KDB Nextround 500, a special investor relation eve

Market Sept. 30, 2021

The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund which is based in South Korea, has stressed its unwavering stance in the adoption of environmental, social and governance factors across its investments. Kim Yong-jin, chairman and chief executive officer of the NPS, pledged to motivate companies it has invested in and external partners, to which NPS deploys capital, to adapt to NPS’ responsible investing strategies. The move will allow companies to get ahead of t

Market Sept. 28, 2021