Korea Venture Investment receives full license from MAS
VCC establishment, fund formation planned for this year
Fund aims to connect domestic startups with global capital
South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups is moving ahead with plans to establish the K-Global Venture Fund, known as K-VCC, using Singapore as its base. The ministry aims to launch the fund this year and scale it up to $300 million by 2030.
The ministry said Sunday that Korea Venture Investment's Singapore subsidiary received full approval for a Capital Markets Services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Aug. 20, clearing the way for it to manage Variable Capital Company funds.
A VCC is a Singapore-specific corporate structure designed exclusively for investment funds, allowing multiple sub-funds to operate under a single legal entity, each managed independently.
The license marks the first time Korea Venture Investment — a state-backed venture investment policy institution — has received approval to manage assets directly in an overseas market. With the approval in hand, the Singapore subsidiary now has the regulatory foundation to establish and operate funds locally, completing a key licensing step toward building an offshore global venture fund.
The ministry unveiled plans last year under its comprehensive strategy to propel South Korea into the top four venture nations globally, outlining a goal to establish an offshore global mother fund in Singapore to attract international investment and expand the domestic venture ecosystem abroad. The fund is to be scaled up in stages to $300 million (414.2 billion won) by 2030.
To that end, the ministry and Korea Venture Investment established a local subsidiary in Singapore in April last year, hiring local staff and building an operational framework while pursuing the MAS fund management license. After receiving preliminary approval last month, the subsidiary obtained full approval this week.
The ministry and Korea Venture Investment plan to begin follow-up steps — including establishing the VCC and forming sub-funds — with the goal of launching the K-Global Venture Fund in the second half of this year.
The fund is focused on attracting global capital through Singapore and supporting Korean ventures and startups in expanding overseas. Once fully operational, it will give domestic startups an additional channel to connect with foreign investors and secure follow-on funding and overseas market opportunities. South Korean venture capital firms are also expected to benefit, gaining more opportunities to co-invest with global investors and broaden their international networks through the Singapore hub.
"We will develop the K-Global Venture Fund into a core platform for venture investment in Asia, so that promising domestic startups can leap into global markets on the strength of international capital and networks," said Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and Startups.
boo@heraldcorp.com
