ING to Buy Morgan Stanleys Asset Management Unit in

ING Group NV said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Morgan Stanley's asset management subsidiary in South Korea to strengthen its presence in the local money management market.

The Dutch financial giant said the agreement calls for purchasing 100 percent of Landmark Investment Management Co. from Morgan Stanley and other stakeholders. But it did not disclose the terms of the deal which needs approval from South Korea's financial watchdog.

Morgan Stanley bought a 87.6 percent stake in Landmark Investment Management in 2002 for 442 billion won ($476.6 million), which had 8.6 trillion won under its management as of May.

ING Group said it plans to merge Landmark Investment Management with its asset management subsidiary, ING Investment Management Korea Ltd., which was established last year.