ING's SKorea unit aims to triple assets under management in three years

ING's SKorea unit aims to triple assets under management in three years

	Published : Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:23 By : Agencies Print this Story

SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - ING Groep's South Korean asset management arm said Wednesday it aims to nearly triple the assets under its management by 2010 to make it Korea's fifth largest player.

This comes after ING clinched a deal in June to acquire full ownership of a local asset management company, Landmark Investment Management Co, from Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, Kyobo Life and Landmark's management for an undisclosed sum.

Landmark was the country's 16th largest asset manager prior to being merged with ING's South Korean operations. The merged entity is now among the top 10 asset management companies in an industry that is expected to grow by 20 percent per annum.

'We are targeting to expand our assets under management to 34 trillion won over the next three years from the current 12 trillion won, which would position us among the top five asset managers in Korea,' said Choi Hong, who heads the merged entity in Korea for the Dutch financial giant.

Choi said the target is achievable, particularly with the expected synergies from ING's local life insurance unit, including its extensive sales network and ample capital pool.

ING's local insurance unit is ranked fourth in the industry.

South Koreans have gradually accepted equity funds as an alternative to more traditional investment instruments such as real estate and bank deposits.

On the other hand, asset management companies are realizing the potential returns from this group of investors as well as from the lucrative corporate pension scheme, which requires companies to outsource a certain portion of their retirement savings to third-party financial services firms.

ING may not be alone in tapping the South Korean asset management market.

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs acquired full ownership of Macquarie-IMM Investment Management, while UBS AG agreed to 51 percent of Daehan Investment Trust Management.

Lazard Ltd and BlackRock Merrill Lynch are reportedly also preparing to launch their operations in Korea.

(1 US dollar = 918.40 won)

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