Korea Venture Investment Corporation secured the qualification to directly establish and manage venture funds in Singapore. With Singapore, Asia's financial hub, as a base to attract global capital and support Korean startups' overseas expansion, the creation of the "K-Global Venture Fund" is expected to gain momentum.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 30th that Korea Venture Investment Corporation's Singapore subsidiary (KVIC ASIA) received final approval for a capital markets services (CMS) license to operate a variable capital company (VCC) fund from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on the 20th.
This approval is the first case of Korea Venture Investment Corporation obtaining a local asset management license overseas. The Singapore subsidiary of Korea Venture Investment Corporation will now be able to directly establish and operate funds locally as a fund manager.
In particular, this approval completes the key authorization process for setting up an offshore global venture fund. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and Korea Venture Investment Corporation plan to begin establishing a VCC and creating sub-funds to set up the "K-Global Venture Fund" in Singapore in the second half of this year.
A VCC is a corporate structure used to operate investment funds in Singapore. Multiple sub-funds can be created under a single VCC, allowing separate management of funds with different investment targets or strategies.
This initiative is a follow-up to the "Comprehensive plan to leap to a top four venture powerhouse" released last year by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS). To draw global capital into the domestic venture ecosystem and support Korean venture companies' overseas expansion, the ministry set a plan to create an offshore global parent fund in Singapore and expand it in stages to $300 million by 2030.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and Korea Venture Investment Corporation established a local corporation in Singapore in April last year. Since then, they have secured local talent, built an operating system, and pursued the MAS licensing process for fund management. Following conditional approval in July, they obtained final approval in about a month.
With this final approval, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to build an overseas investment platform that connects global investors with domestic ventures and startups. It also plans to use it to support the overseas expansion of domestic venture capital firms.
No Yong-seok, first vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "Using Singapore as a base, we will strengthen the connection between global investors and our ventures and startups and expand opportunities for domestic venture capital firms to go overseas," adding, "We will develop the K-Global Venture Fund into a core platform for venture investment in Asia and support promising domestic startups' entry into global markets."