이 기사는 2021년 12월 03일 08:10 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has added three foreign investment firms to its alternative manager roster as the state pension fund pushes to make further investments abroad in search of higher returns.

The pension fund's quarterly manager updates for the three months ended September 30 cited Beijing-based private equity firm Hillhouse Capital, US investment firm Warburg Pincus and Canadian hedge fund Polar Asset Management Partners as additions to its manager roaster.

Founded in 2005, Hillhouse Capital is an Asia-focused private equity firm, with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. The firm invests across a range of sectors from internet and consumer to healthcare and manufacturing. Among the firm’s notable investments in South Korea are online delivery platform operator Kurly, food delivery platform operator Woowa Brothers and video game developer Krafton.

New York-based Warburg Pincus has been one of the most active real estate investors in Asia, investing more than $6 billion in over 30 real estate-related ventures and platforms. The investment firm is reportedly set to close its Asia real estate fund at $3 billion with backing from high-profile Asian investors.

Meanwhile, two domestic investment firms have been added as NPS’ alternative managers in the third quarter. Among them is SKS Private Equity, which was selected by the pension fund to be awarded a co-investment mandate.

A large increase in the number of foreign managers overseeing NPS’ alternative investments – from 162 to 173 for the nine months through September – highlights continued efforts by the pension fund to increase its allocation to alternative assets abroad.

In contrast, the number of NPS’ domestic alternative managers declined from 108 to 106 in the same period. (Reporting by Hee-yeon Han)