HSBC headquarters building located in Canary Wharf |
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
The National Pension Service (NPS) of Korea has set its sights on one of the most prominent landmarks in London ― the HSBC headquarters building located in Canary Wharf.
The NPS said Friday that the HSBC tower, whose price is reportedly in the vicinity of $1.25 billion, is on the purchase list of the country's biggest state investor.
``We have resumed buying foreign properties of late as many buildings are underrated now in the aftermath of the financial crisis as amply demonstrated by the recent purchase of a Tokyo building,'' NPS spokesman Kim Ha-young said.
``We are interested in the HSBC building in London although we are not sure whether the building is up for sale.''
Kim added that the NPS appointed Rockspring Property Investment Manager as its agent in an effort to wade into the property market in the United Kingdom.
The HSBC tower was sold to a Spanish property company for 1.1 billion pounds in 2007, but the 42-story skyscraper was resold to HSBC for 840 million pounds after the market crash.
``We don't know whether we would form a consortium or would try to buy the skyscraper on our own. All the details will be decided only if HSBC opts to sell,'' Kim said.
``We are interested in the building but there have been no talks. You should wait for a while.''
In related news, HSBC announced late last week that it would relocate the principal office of the group CEO to Hong Kong from the London HSBC tower.
``The move further positions the group for the shift in the world's center of economic gravity from West to East,'' it said.
The NPS has put forth efforts to diversify its investment portfolio from equities and bonds into real estate.
In early July, the NPS snapped up a 10-story office building in Tokyo together with a private equity fund of Carlyle for 460 billion won.
After the purchase, the fund declared that it would make a foray into the property markets of New York, London, Paris and Sydney in a bid to seek higher returns.
``Currently, around 3.7 percent of our investment is channeled to alternative destinations such as property markets while the remaining is funneled to our traditional investment targets of stocks and bonds,'' the NPS said in a statement after buying the Tokyo building.
``We plan to raise the rate to above the 5 percent markdown this year,'' it said.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
|
yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
