Park Hyun-joo to unveil deal after board vote; move comes two months after firm officially acknowledged acquisition review

Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyun-joo walks to the stage at Kyung Hee University's Seoul campus on Tuesday to deliver a special lecture titled "Global Capital Markets, the Leap of the Next Generation, and a New Path for the Korean Economy." [Yonhap]
Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyun-joo walks to the stage at Kyung Hee University's Seoul campus on Tuesday to deliver a special lecture titled "Global Capital Markets, the Leap of the Next Generation, and a New Path for the Korean Economy." [Yonhap]

Mirae Asset Securities is expected to announce plans Thursday to acquire a Japanese brokerage. The move is aimed at lowering the high barriers to entry in Japan's securities market — where obtaining a new brokerage license is notoriously difficult — while accelerating the firm's push to build a global investment platform.

According to financial investment industry sources, Mirae Asset Group Chairman and Global Strategy Officer Park Hyun-joo disclosed the firm's overseas M&A plans at a special lecture held Tuesday at Kyung Hee University's Seoul campus, titled "Global Capital Markets, the Leap of the Next Generation, and a New Path for the Korean Economy."

The acquisition target is understood to be a Japan-based brokerage. Mirae Asset is expected to announce the specifics of the deal Thursday after it clears a board vote.

The M&A extends Mirae Asset's strategy to enter the Japanese market. Mirae Asset Securities officially acknowledged in August that it was reviewing the acquisition of a local Japanese brokerage.

In a regulatory disclosure at the time, the company said it was "reviewing the acquisition of a Japanese brokerage" and would "re-disclose within one month or when the relevant details are finalized." Park's remarks Tuesday confirmed that the acquisition, which had been under review, is now approaching a final decision.

Mirae Asset's choice of M&A as its entry vehicle reflects the steep barriers to operating in Japan's securities industry. Obtaining a new brokerage license and building a business base from scratch in Japan takes considerable time.

Acquiring an existing brokerage, by contrast, allows the firm to tap into an already-established sales network, customer base and business infrastructure — subject to local regulatory approvals. The approach cuts the time and cost of market entry while reducing the uncertainty that comes with starting a new operation.

The growth potential of Japan's capital markets is another factor driving Mirae Asset's push into the country. Japan's stock market has drawn growing interest from global investors, spurred by improvements in corporate governance and expanded shareholder returns.

Foreign investors' net purchases of Japanese shares reached 11 trillion yen ($69.6 billion) in the first half of this year, a record high. Japanese retail investors are also shifting funds into equities and other capital market assets, raising expectations for growth in the securities and wealth management sector.

Mirae Asset is expected to apply its wealth management and ETF expertise — built up in domestic and overseas markets — to its Japanese operations. The plan is to combine the acquired brokerage's customer base and sales network with Mirae Asset's financial products and asset management services to expand its share of the local market.

The acquisition also aligns with Mirae Asset's global investment platform strategy, which the firm has positioned as a new growth engine. The company is working to link overseas brokerages to a single platform that integrates investment services across different countries, giving customers access to global financial products in one place. The vision goes beyond expanding through existing overseas subsidiaries — Mirae Asset aims to broaden its global financial network through local M&A.

Lee Kang-hyuk, head of the management innovation division at Mirae Asset Securities, said in a conference call that "enabling customers to access investment opportunities around the world through a single platform is a key strategic direction for Mirae Asset." He added that the firm plans to build a next-generation wealth management ecosystem connecting traditional and digital assets, and to expand the platform to the United States, Singapore, Japan and Australia.

Beyond Japan, Mirae Asset is also pursuing an acquisition in China as part of its broader global expansion. A deal to acquire a Chinese financial firm could be completed before the end of this year.

Park said at Tuesday's lecture that an M&A deal under way in mainland China "will probably be wrapped up this year." The acquisition target in China is also understood to be a financial sector company. Park also signaled his intention to continue pursuing overseas M&A, focusing on economies larger than South Korea's. "The places I most want to be are the United States and China," he said.


th5@heraldcorp.com