Korea Updates: As Kim Jong Un rattles his nuclear sabre, South Korea’s institutional investors have been busy investing in global real assets

With the world’s attention drawn to Kim Jong Un’s ongoing flirtations with nuclear apocalypse, investors in the south of the Korean peninsula nevertheless continue to show an ever-increasing appetite for overseas investment. In the Real Assets space, the focus has predominantly been on real estate debt and infrastructure investments, with allocations being split between US (especially mezzanine debt), Europe (senior debt) and Australia (infrastructure).

At the same time we have witnessed an emergence of a so-called “second wave” of Korean investors starting to make their first overseas investments, typically through third party funds with some of those funds having been developed specifically for Korean investors. With figures from Savills indicating that South Korean outbound investment into global real estate (equity, debt and fund of funds) topped US$25 billion in 2016, 2017 is expected to be another record year.

Against the backdrop of growing interest in outbound investment, both directly and through fund platforms, CMS is delighted to be sponsoring ANREV’s autumn breakfast briefing in Seoul on 26 September. Matthew Nortcliff, CMS’ Asia head of Funds and Indirect Real Assets, will present our views on the state of the funds market in Asia Pacific and on recent developments in fund terms. In addition, TH Real Estate’s Asia Head of Research Harry Tan will present an overview of the Asia Pacific real estate market.

If the Korean market is of interest to you please contact Matthew Nortcliff or Steve Kim, CMS’ Korea-based consultant, and if you or a colleague would like to attend our CMS / ANREV breakfast briefing, we would be delighted to see you in Seoul.

Please contact Matthew or Steve for further details.