South Korea's state pension fund said Tuesday it has partnered with its Dutch counterpart to make joint investments in overseas assets.

The National Pension Service has recently joined hands with APG Asset Management, which runs the biggest Dutch pension fund, to explore investment opportunities in global markets, the NPS said in a statement.

The partnership came as the Korean pension fund increases the ratio of alternative investments in global markets amid low rates and an extended slowdown, it said.

In their first achievements, the two pension funds made a 50:50 investment in an Australian university dormitory facility in August and another 50:50 investment in Portugal's biggest expressway operating company in October, the statement said.

The NPS is the world's third-largest pension fund, with 752 trillion won ($648 billion) under its management as of June.

APG Asset Management managed assets worth 538 billion euros ($630 billion) as of the end of 2019. (Yonhap)