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| Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyun-joo, center, stands next to officials from Mirae Asset Global Investments' India entity on Jan. 13 in Mumbai, India. Courtesy of Mirae Asset Global Investments |
By Anna J. Park
Mirae Asset Global Investments celebrates the 15th anniversary of its operations in India, having entered the country in 2008. The firm announced earlier this week that Mirae Asset Global Investments is currently India's only independent foreign asset manager.
With its fund deposits reaching some 21 trillion won ($17 billion) as of the end of December 2022, Mirae Asset has grown into India's ninth-best asset management company. When compared to 15 years ago, the amount of fund deposits rose over 100 times. The number of retail accounts registered at the firm's India entity also soared rapidly to 5.5 million as of the end of last year, from 2.8 million in 2020.
The firm's success in the country is attributed partly to its aggressive investments, while other major global asset managers decided to withdraw from the country during the aftermath of the global financial crisis in the late 2000s. Seeing the huge potential of India's market, Mirae Asset has been expanding its business portfolio during the past 15 years.
Mirae Asset's India operations transformed into a holding company in 2019, in order to operate more diverse business models, including fund operations, real estate loans, venture capital and asset management. Currently, Mirae Asset owns seven subsidiaries, including a brokerage, a venture capital firm and non-bank financial institutions. The company has recently been investing in India's logistics sector, the first time that a foreign asset manager has made a direct investment in the country's logistics industry. Mirae Asset plans to continue investing in logistics centers and data centers, the two expected beneficiaries of the country's fast economic growth.
"Mirae Asset will continue its own business in the global market, just as it has been through the past 15 years in India to grow into the ninth-biggest asset management company in the country. Starting with only 50 billion won in capital, Mirae Asset stood by the Indian market as it believed in its market potential, while major overseas asset management firms decided to withdraw their India operations amid difficulties following the global financial crisis," an official from Mirae Asset Global Investments said.
The company has also recently made a foray into the Middle East, as Mirae Asset Global Investments' India entity opened up a branch in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the first time for a local asset management company to advance into a Middle Eastern country. Indians make up about 35 percent of Dubai's population.
