이 기사는 2021년 05월 03일 07:41 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) has selected Dominus Investment and a consortium of Stonebridge Ventures and Industrial Bank of Korea to award a 50 billion won ($45 million) private equity mandate which requires integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

The state-controlled bank will award 25 billion won apiece to the firms. Each manager should close a fund of 100 billion won or more within six months after the selection date.

Dominus Investment has a strong track record in investing in growth companies abroad. Its portfolio companies included U.S. shoe brand Supra and Hilon Indonesia, which produces bedding goods. It also invested in E-Land’s overseas unit, Micronesia Resort, through its overseas office.

The Stonebridge-led consortium earlier this year won a New Deal mandate awarded by Korea Development Bank and Korea Growth Investment Corp. KEXIM said in a request for proposals (RFP) that the fund should invest in sectors listed in the government’s guidelines on the New Deal initiatives.

KEXIM issued its RFP in February and shortlisted six managers last month. The final selections have been made this week after interviews and due diligence.

“More institutional investors are expected to embrace ESG standards,” an official at one private equity firm in Seoul said. “We will keep studying ESG factors and ways to integrate them into investment decisions.”

KEXIM also hired Sustinvest to advise it on ESG evaluation. The research firm will be responsible for developing criteria for ESG evaluation and assessing ESG performance of companies invested in by the selected managers. (Reporting by Byung-yoon Kim and Seon-young Kim)