News

News

Signing of Science, Technology and Innovation Agreement between the Republic of Korea and Canada

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/korea-coree/media/2016-12-20-Science_Tech.aspx?lang=eng

• Asset management firm Brookfield has raised a combined $700 million from major South Korean institutional investors.

• South Korea’s institutional investors are putting money in debt to buy Manhattan and San Francisco skyscrapers as they flee record-low bond yields and falling shares at home. According to JLL, outbound South Korean investment has increased by 200 percent in the last five years alone, including a record total of $1.9 billion into U.S. commercial real estate last year. That put the United States ahead of Europe, which received $1.6 billion in Korean investment, for the first time ever.

• APG Asset Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) announced that they have established a joint venture platform (the “JV”) with logistics developer, owner, operator e-Shang and its Seoul-based subsidiary Kendall Square Logistics Properties (“KSLP”).

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a stake of approximately 21.5% in Homeplus, Tesco’s South Korean business, for US$534 million

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) has entered into a couple of real estate joint ventures in South Korea and Germany. CPPIB and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have agreed to acquire the D-Cube Retail Mall in Seoul, South Korea from Daesung Industries for US$263 million

NYTimes: Chinese Trade Rules Put South Korea’s Kimchi Industry in a Pickle

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/business/international/chinese-trade-rules-put-south-koreas-kimchi-industry-in-a-pickle.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0

Fengate Capital Management launches US $180M infrastructure fund mandate with Korean institutional investors – June 2015

Fengate Capital Management’s global pursuit continues through its recent collaboration with KB Asset Management, the investment arm of KB Financial Group, a leading financial institution in Korea. The US $180 million investment fund will target infrastructure assets such as roads, hospitals and renewable energy in Canada and the United States. The investors in this fund are Public Officials Benefits Association, Dongbu Insurance, Heungkuk Life Insurance, Hyundai Marine and Fire Insurance and Lotte Insurance.

Green Cross Biotherapeutics (GCBT), the Canadian subsidiary of South Korean biopharmaceutical company Green Cross, has begun construction on a new manufacturing facility in Montreal. The C$315 million project will serve as the company’s North American headquarters and will produce and distribute plasma protein products for the Canadian market as well as export to countries such as the US and China. The company intends to employ 200 scientists, engineers, microbiologists, chemical engineers and other professionals at the facility, which has received C$25 million in support from Investissement Quebec. The Korean National Pension Service, a private equity fund based in Seoul, is also contributing a C$70 million equity investment.

The Banting & Best Diabetes Centre (BBDC) at University of Toronto and University Health Network have entered into a first-of-its kind partnership with the Kangbuk Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul, South Korea to help them become Asia’s top centre for diabetes treatment, research and education. The BBDC was selected from a pool of leading diabetes centres from around the world.

Lululemon Athletica opens its first Korean showroom in Seoul

Google launches venture incubator in Seoul

U.S. search giant Google launched its start-up incubator, dubbed Campus Seoul, in Korea on Friday, with aims to cultivate tech entrepreneurs in Asia and support their global success.

The Seoul unit is the first of its kind in Asia and the third globally after London and Tel Aviv spaces. Google plans to open three more campuses in three cities ― Madrid, Sao Paulo and Warsaw ― in the second half of this year.

PM ANNOUNCES SUPPORT TO OPEN NEW MARKETS FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced a number of measures to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seize opportunities abroad as part of the Government’s pro-jobs and pro-export plan. These measures will help SMEs expand their businesses and create jobs by exploring new export opportunities for their goods and services, including to new and emerging markets.

The Prime Minister first announced a new export market development program that would provide direct financial assistance to entrepreneurs seeking to develop new export opportunities and markets, especially in high-growth emerging markets. These initiatives will be particularly helpful in helping SMEs finance activities such as participation in trade fairs and missions, and market research to create new business opportunities.

To this end, Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced a new export market development program which would provide a total of $50 million over five years in direct financial assistance to entrepreneurs seeking to export to emerging markets for the first time. Non-repayable contributions, with cost-matching by recipients, would finance activities such as participation in trade fairs and missions, and market research. This program is expected to assist between 500 to 1,000 exporters per year across the country.

The Prime Minister also announced an expansion of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) representing $42 million over the first five years and $9.25 million in ongoing support after that. To help Canadian exporters better explore emerging markets the Government will deploy an estimated additional twenty Trade Commissioners to target priority markets. The TCS currently has more than 160 trade offices in Canada and around the world to help provide export advice and guidance to entrepreneurs.

Korea’s Samsung SDI Acquires Magna Int’l Battery Pack Business