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Koreans invest in London property
Koreans invest in London property
| Published: | 10 Apr at 4 PM |
Prime office buildings in London have become popular among South Korean institutional investors looking for low-risk assets, reports the Financial Times.
Attracted by the UK capital’s high investment returns in relation to risk, South Korea’s cash-rich insurers and investment funds are searching more and more for bargains in the ravaged commercial property market in Europe as they attempt to move their burgeoning wealth funds beyond the relatively small commercial markets.
In recent years, their interest in property in London has intensified due to high liquidity, relatively long leases and higher yield in comparison with rival investments like government bonds. South Korea’s state-run National Pension Service is the fourth-largest pension fund in the world with over $300bn of assets. It is at the top of the pile, investing Won6.3tn ($5.67bn) overall in properties overseas.
The fund reported a 12 per cent annual return from its alternative investments last year, including real estate. Jun Kwang-woo, the fund’s chairman, has fronted the global shopping spree, purchasing HSBC’s Canary Wharf London headquarters, a shopping centre just outside Paris, Berlin’s Sony Centre and a Sydney-based office building, just to name a few.
Attracted by the UK capital’s high investment returns in relation to risk, South Korea’s cash-rich insurers and investment funds are searching more and more for bargains in the ravaged commercial property market in Europe as they attempt to move their burgeoning wealth funds beyond the relatively small commercial markets.
In recent years, their interest in property in London has intensified due to high liquidity, relatively long leases and higher yield in comparison with rival investments like government bonds. South Korea’s state-run National Pension Service is the fourth-largest pension fund in the world with over $300bn of assets. It is at the top of the pile, investing Won6.3tn ($5.67bn) overall in properties overseas.
The fund reported a 12 per cent annual return from its alternative investments last year, including real estate. Jun Kwang-woo, the fund’s chairman, has fronted the global shopping spree, purchasing HSBC’s Canary Wharf London headquarters, a shopping centre just outside Paris, Berlin’s Sony Centre and a Sydney-based office building, just to name a few.
