Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) is looking to open another office overseas so that it can be better positioned to source for alternative investments, with India being an early contender, according to an official at the sovereign wealth fund.
KIC currently has offices in New York, London and Singapore, and a branch in San Francisco.
The official describes a report in The Korean Economic Daily on March 14 that KIC had identified Mumbai, India as the location for a new office as “a bit misleading about where we are standing now”.
“The discussion is in an early stage. KIC has not reached a decision [on the location]. India is among various regions being considered,” he tells Asia Asset Management, speaking on condition that he isn’t identified by name.
The plan is for KIC to open a branch first and then upgrade it into a full-fledged office later.
According to the official, expanding overseas is important to support KIC’s plan to increase its alternative investments to 26% of assets under management by 2025 from 22.8% last year.
“The extended localised strategies will bring substantial benefit to alternative asset investing, from sourcing a good deal to monitoring assets,” he says.
KIC had around US$169.3 billion of assets under management at the end of 2022.