이 기사는 2020년 06월 12일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

SK Group is attracting attention whether its investment arm operating in Southeast Asia will use its corporate partnership (COPA) fund for a planned investment in Air Asia.

SK Group has decided to acquire a 10 percent stake in Malaysian low-cost carrier Air Asia for approximately 100 billion won ($84 million) through SK Southeast Asia Investment, the group’s investment arm operating in the region, according to sources on June 10.

SK Group hasn’t reportedly drawn up its funding plan for the acquisition yet. “There are internal views that it’s not appropriate to make the investment through the COPA fund, considering the size of the investment of 100 billion won is not that large,” said an industry source. “Further discussion is needed as the deal is only in the early stage.”

SK Southeast Asia Investment and National Pension Service (NPS) have launched a 1.2 trillion won COPA fund at the end of last year to invest in Vietnamese companies with high growth potential. For the fund, NPS and the group have contributed $500 million, respectively.

NPS has hired SKS Private Equity and Stonebridge Capital as its general partners. The COPA fund made its first investment in top Vietnamese company Vingroup immediately after its launch in late 2019. Since then, however, the fund hasn’t made its second investment yet.

SK Group and general partners are facing challenges finding investment opportunities due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Against this backdrop, SK Group was approached by Air Asia to acquire a 10 percent in the airliner.

If the group decides to make the investment using the COPA fund, SK Southeast Asia Investment and NPS are expected contribute 50 billion won, respectively.

SK Group also launched a 1.2 trillion won COPA fund at the end of 2019 with the Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU) for cross-border investments. SK Holdings and the KTCU deployed capital from their joint fund to invest in U.S.-based Brazos Midstream.

(Reporting by Hye-ran Kim)