이 기사는 2020년 02월 20일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korean venture capital (VC) firms are moving fast to better position themselves in fundraising, as Korea Venture Investment Corp. (KVIC) and Korea Growth Investment Corp. (K-Growth) are expected to allot most of their money early this year.

KVIC and K-Growth – the two biggest fund-of-funds operators in the country and the largest investors in the VC industry – both have recently kicked off their first investment programs of the year, in which they select asset managers to allocate capital.

This year, KVIC aims to invest nearly 1.3 trillion won ($1 billion) in VC funds via its flagship fund of funds called Korea Fund of Funds. Of the amount, about 1.19 trillion won, or more than 90 percent of the total, will be allocated through the investment programs currently underway, which is expected to come to an end this spring.

This is also the case for K-Growth: It plans to allocate 540 billion won ($454 million), or about a half of its total capital earmarked for blind commitments in 2020, in the first three months of the year. The biggest VC funding program designed by K-Growth in partnership with Korea Development Bank (KDB) also began earlier this month.

It is considered unusual because both so far have allocated their capital relatively evenly throughout the year. “It is quite notable that investment programs of the two leading anchor investors in the VC industry are heavily concentrated in February and March this year,” an industry insider said. “This could be, though, better off in terms of the fundraising process.”

VC managers are moving quickly to receive as much commitments as possible from KVIC and K-Growth, as they are allowed to apply for more than one program at the same time.

However, with limited human resources available to most VC firms, they are generally expected to be capable of submitting only one application or two. This means that a decision on which investment program they will apply for should be made carefully. They also may have to take account of expected moves by peers.

“Many VC firms appear to try to make a careful decision on their choices of investment programs,” another industry insider said. “They are also closely watching moves by peers.”

(By reporter Lee Youn-jae)