This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:10 p.m. on Jul. 27, 2026.
Private equity fund (PEF) manager Dominus Investment made a new investment in the Mexico subsidiary of auto parts maker Shinkwang Tech. It is the first investment by the separate managed account (SMA) "overseas investment-only fund," formed early this year with funds from the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), a sovereign wealth funds, with a total bet of 10 billion won.
According to the investment bank (IB) industry on the 27th, Dominus recently participated in new fundraising by Shinkwang Tech's Mexico subsidiary, SHINKWANG TECHMEXICO SA DE CV, investing about 10 billion won. The investment was made by acquiring convertible bonds (CB), using the KIC overseas investment-only fund.
The KIC overseas investment-only fund is a $200 million (about 300 billion won) SMA that Dominus set up early this year solely with KIC money. Late last year, KIC said it would broaden its commitments, which had been concentrated with global managers, to include domestic firms and carried out its first commitment program for domestic managers, selecting Dominus as GP.
Dominus was said to have had difficulty sourcing targets afterward. Because KIC's money is based on foreign exchange reserves, it must be used only for overseas investments. It has to find domestic corporations that are expanding overseas production facilities or overseas business and supply dollar funds to their local subsidiaries.
Shinkwang Tech Mexico fit precisely with the KIC overseas investment-only fund's operating criteria. It is Shinkwang Tech's overseas production subsidiary established in Monterrey, Mexico, and it built a new plant near Hyundai Mobis's Mexico factory that went into operation in Jan. 2024. This year, it conducted fundraising with an eye to expansion.
It also draws attention as a follow-on investment in Shinkwang Tech by Dominus. Before this investment in Shinkwang Tech Mexico, Dominus had already invested 16.5 billion won in the parent company Shinkwang Tech. That investment was made when the new Shinkwang Tech Mexico plant began operations, using money from the "NV Mezzanine Plus Private Equity Partnership."
Dominus was understood to have highly valued the rise of Mexico as a beneficiary of the U.S.-centric supply chain reorganization. In particular, with U.S. corporations "nearshoring" by moving production bases from China to Mexico, Shinkwang Tech Mexico is expected to gain more customers and expand its influence in the North American market.
An IB industry official said, "Because the KIC overseas investment-only fund must not only invest but also exit overseas, discovering investment targets had been a challenge," adding, "Now that Dominus has found a target that meets the conditions, there is a high possibility that the remaining funds will be deployed in a similar structure."