Bio, display, mobility picked next destination for public growth fund

Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), speaks at a meeting to inspect the financial hardships of construction companies in the Middle East situation held at the National Development Exhibition Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

The second round of investment by the mega-sized Public Growth Fund will be mainly focused on the bio, display and mobility sectors, the financial regulator said Tuesday.

The Lee Jae Myung government launched the 150 trillion-won ($101 billion) fund late last year to support seven projects, including artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, secondary batteries and biotechnology, over the next five years.

So far, the fund has decided to funnel some 6.6 trillion won into four projects that also include the construction of an offshore wind farm and an AI chip production facility.

The investment review committee of the fund has selected the next investment destinations — bio, display and mobility — and will discuss how to fund investment projects in the sectors, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The regulator said around 10 trillion won will be invested under the second batch of investment by the fund.

"The projects to be funded by the second batch of investment from the Public Growth Fund will have a significant ripple effect on the overall industrial sector, while also contributing to invigorating regional economies," FSC chairman Lee Eog-weon said in a review committee meeting.

The second round of the fund's investment projects will be financed by a 35 trillion-won private-government fund and a direct investment fund worth 15 trillion won.

Earlier, the FSC said over 30 trillion won will be invested this year, along with the initial investments, including 6 trillion won for the AI sector, 4.2 trillion won for the semiconductor segment and 3.1 trillion won in future mobility.