By Seo Jee-yeon
Staff Reporter
Mirae Asset Investment Management, the nation’s largest fund manager, will spur exports of its fund products in the latter part of this year.
``We are making all-out efforts to raise corporate recognition overseas before starting the sale of our flagship funds abroad,’’ the company said.
In the Fund Forum Asia 2007, held in Hong Kong between April 17-19, Mirae Asset set up a booth for the first time as a Korean asset management firm to promote the company and its products for asset management firms and fund sellers in the region.
The company introduced funds which will be put on sale in overseas markets in the conference and a number of participants expressed interest.
The Hong Kong branch of Mirae Asset has been in talks with global fund sellers, including Citibank and HSBC, to sell its leading funds like high-return ``Asia-Pacific Star Fund’’ to overseas customers.
The return of the fund investing in 25 Asian blue chips reaches 40 percent for two years after the launch in February in 2005.
``The yield of the fund is competitive as much as other similar funds of global asset management firms in terms of yields,’’ a company official said.
The fund and other leading Mirae Asset funds will be re-created in a tax heaven region before being sold to international customers through global fund sellers around July this year.
If it is realized, Mirae Asset will be the first Korean fund management firm to export fund products abroad.
Mirae Asset Group chairman Park Hyeon-joo said the company will attract 200 to 300 billion won by the end of the year.
Mirae Asset has spearheaded the overseas expansion drive of domestic fund management firms. The company has already launched a branch in Hong Kong and Singapore. It will open a branch in the U.K. next month, while a Los Angeles branch will be launched next year.
In the long term, the company plans to open a branch in Japan and Australia.
``Asset management firms have to step up overseas expansion as the local market is too small to be saturated in the near future,’’ Park said.