Korean pension fund to ramp up overseas focus
South Korea is to bolster its National Pension Service’s (NPS) international private equity investment activities, aiming to link with overseas funds to broaden domestic companies’ business prospects.
According to reports citing a Welfare Ministry statement, the revised plan aims to link funds with Korean companies. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that the pension fund, the world's fourth-largest, sought to invest $4 billion internationally into alternative assets like private equity funds. The report further quoted the fund's Chairman and CEO, Jun Kwang-woo, as saying that NPS aims to have its overseas allocation to account for 20% of its asset portfolio by 2015, up from 13% last year.
Among NPS's overseas deals last year was its $1 billion tie up with KKR to take a 23.44% stake in US major Colonial Pipeline, acquired from Chevron, and its 51% stake acquisition in French shopping center O'Parinor.
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