Korea’s KIC Opens India Office in Mumbai to Kick Off Emerging Markets Push

Korea Investment Corporation has opened an office in Mumbai, establishing India as the sovereign wealth fund’s first emerging-market outpost.

KIC received regulatory approval for the office from India’s central bank on 24 January, it said late last week in a release. The $189 billion fund previously set up overseas offices in New York, London, Singapore and San Francisco.

Chief executive Seoungho Jin said the new office represents a key milestone in KIC’s “evolving investment capabilities”. The fund has been eyeing an expansion of alternative investments in Asia’s emerging markets.

“The Mumbai office will become an integral part of KIC’s sustainable growth by capturing new investment opportunities in the world’s fastest-growing economy, primarily in the private equity, venture capital, real estate and infrastructure markets,” Jin said.

Recruiting Local Experts

KIC’s Mumbai office will be headed by Kiho Kwon, an eight-year veteran of the institution, and employ two local experts, including a private equity investment professional.

The office’s roles will include researching financial markets, gathering information on investment opportunities and deal sourcing, and supporting the alternative investment activities of the Seoul-based headquarters. The office will also build networks with investment managers in India and provide support for other public funds and financial institutions in South Korea.

Jin told reporters last April that KIC was keen to invest in alternatives in India, Vietnam, Indonesia and other fast-growing regional economies, as well as data centres and tech infrastructure in Japan, according to the Korea Economic Daily.

The fund’s prior real estate investments have included the 2015 acquisition of the InterContinental Hong Kong hotel (since rebranded the Regent Hong Kong) alongside Gaw Capital Partners for $940 million.

Equities Boost Return

KIC on Monday announced an annual return of 11.6 percent for 2023, driven by strong gains on traditional assets. Equity investments returned 22.4 percent as fixed-income securities yielded 6.3 percent.

Assets under management as of 31 December were up $20.1 billion from a year earlier, KIC said in a release. The surge marks a turnaround after the fund in 2022 posted a $29.7 billion loss, the largest since KIC’s founding in 2005.

KIC has recorded accumulated investment gains of $77.9 billion since inception. At the end of 2023, equities accounted for 39.2 percent of the fund’s total assets while fixed income made up 31.5 percent and alternative investments constituted 22 percent.

“In an increasingly challenging and volatile market environment, KIC has weathered well as our proactive asset allocation strategies based on in-depth research on various macroeconomic scenarios kept our portfolio resilient for the long term,” Jin said.

The fund will focus on finding new investment opportunities in fast-developing sectors like AI, semiconductors and healthcare, the CEO said.