Kijung Kwon urges South Korea to build FO regime and reform taxes to grow wealth
February 23, 2026Singapore – “For Korean financial institutions to compete with global asset managers, the answer may lie in being even more Korean.”
Kijung Kwon, who has been active in Singapore’s financial market for more than a decade since 2009 and has led NH Absolute Return Partners (NH ARP), the Singapore subsidiary of NH Investment & Securities, since 2021, cited “access to Korean companies” as the key differentiating advantage of Korean financial institutions.
According to Kwon, the way for Korean financial institutions to establish a distinctive position in Singapore is to operate in the most Korean way possible by leveraging their superior access to Korean companies.
Singapore is widely regarded as a global financial hub with a highly developed asset management industry.
Although South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) is roughly three times larger than Singapore’s, Singapore’s asset management industry is significantly larger.
As of the end of 2025, South Korea had approximately US$1.3 trillion in assets under management (AUM) across 507 asset managers, while Singapore managed approximately US$4.7 trillion through more than 1,200 firms.
Despite its smaller economy, Singapore possesses a much deeper and broader asset management ecosystem, making it a market where global and local asset managers compete intensely.
Kwon said, “Even local Southeast Asian venture capital firms typically manage around US$1 billion in assets, highlighting the considerable gap in scale with Korean financial institutions operating in Singapore. Unless we are prepared to fully localize our workforce and commit sufficient seed capital, we need a strategy that capitalizes on our access to Korean companies and assets.”
He sees growing global investor interest in Korean companies, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as an opportunity.
Kwon said, “If we try to raise capital for a fund investing in British or Australian companies, investors immediately ask what advantages we have over global asset managers such as BlackRock or KKR. As a Korean financial institution, what we can offer is a deep understanding of Korean companies and assets.”
He added, “It is rare to see such strong investor interest in Korean companies as we do today. We explain to investors that our funds provide an attractive opportunity to gain exposure to Korean assets.”
In the past, NH Investment & Securities’ Singapore subsidiary focused primarily on fund-of-funds investments, allocating capital to hedge funds and venture capital funds.
However, since Kwon assumed leadership, the firm has shifted its strategy—excluding legacy funds with remaining maturities—toward direct investments in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, selected Korean companies, Indian private companies, and private credit.
Currently, NH Investment & Securities’ Singapore subsidiary manages approximately KRW 260 billion across four funds. Its core role is to connect NH Group’s capital with promising investment opportunities throughout Southeast Asia.
However, Kwon has plans to broaden the firm’s investment platform by attracting capital from local investors and expanding beyond NH Group funding.
Kwon sees the US$200 million Climate Technology Fund (CTF), which is being raised in the second half of the year, as the starting point of that plan.
The Climate Technology Fund is an impact fund that provides capital to climate technology companies from developed countries, including Korea, seeking to expand into Southeast Asia. The fund focuses on four sectors in which Korean companies possess strong capabilities: renewable energy, low-carbon transportation, agricultural technology, and waste management.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), a United Nations-affiliated institution, will serve as an anchor investor with a 42% commitment, while NH Financial Group will contribute more than 10%. In particular, GCF’s commitment is structured as concessional capital that absorbs part of the downside risk, thereby lowering the burden on private investors.
Whereas NH Investment & Securities’ Singapore subsidiary had previously managed capital provided by NH Group, the Climate Technology Fund represents a meaningful effort to raise and deploy global capital independently.
The Climate Technology Fund is also significant in that it serves as the starting point for a broader strategy centered on Korean companies.
Kwon said, “Whereas we have previously incorporated Korean companies only as part of our portfolios, we intend to gauge overseas investors’ appetite for Korean companies through the Climate Technology Fund. Depending on the performance of this fund, we plan to consider a strategy of launching funds composed entirely of Korean companies.”
Kwon described the fund as one that proactively responds to climate change.
He said, “In recent years, extreme heat caused by global warming has increasingly resulted in crops being scorched and second harvests failing in Southeast Asia. This is a serious issue that affects not only farmers’ household incomes but also food security.”
He continued, “At its roots, NH traces back to the agricultural cooperative founded for farmers. In that sense, we are identifying investment opportunities in agricultural technologies that can address climate risks and enhance the sustainability of farming communities.”
Kwon aims to raise US$88 million, the target amount for the first close, by the end of September and begin actively deploying the fund in November. He explained that the fund’s flexible investment approach, which allows investments ranging from startups to publicly listed companies, has continued to attract interest from local venture capital firms and institutional investors.
Another growth driver attracting Kijung Kwon’s attention is private credit, which refers to loans provided directly to companies by non-bank institutions such as private equity firms and asset managers, rather than by banks.
Kwon said, “Although concerns about overheating have recently emerged in the U.S. private credit market, Southeast Asia’s private credit market is less than 5% the size of the U.S. market. Given the region’s strong economic growth, we believe its potential is substantial.”
He added, “Local banks in Southeast Asia tend to lend only to highly creditworthy small and medium-sized enterprises for risk management reasons. There is abundant demand for financing, but an insufficient supply of capital.”
NH Investment & Securities’ Singapore subsidiary has built a track record by addressing this financing gap through secured private credit investments. To date, the firm has successfully exited six private credit investments.
Kwon said, “We plan to establish a fund dedicated exclusively to private credit investments in Southeast Asian companies within the next three years. Since the Southeast Asian private credit market still lacks established dominant players, it is a market well worth pursuing.”
An indispensable group of participants in Southeast Asia’s private credit market is local fintech lending platforms.
Kwon said, “Because access to traditional retail financial services remains limited in Southeast Asia, fintech lending platforms have developed rapidly. Given the large unbanked population, fintech companies provide lending services through e-wallets integrated with e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada.”
He continued, “Since fintech companies do not have deposit-taking capabilities, they must obtain funding externally. Because Southeast Asia’s bond markets are still relatively underdeveloped, many of these companies raise capital through private financing arrangements. NH Investment & Securities’ Singapore subsidiary provides financing to fintech companies whose risk-scoring systems, collection capabilities, and non-performing loan management track records have been thoroughly validated.”
Recognizing the growth potential of fintech lending platforms, NH Investment & Securities’ Singapore subsidiary invested in a Singapore-based fintech company at an early stage. The transaction was the first of its kind by a Korean financial institution and has been regarded by the local investment community as a meaningful precedent.
Kwon said, “I find it rewarding to expand our investment footprint gradually, even if progress is slow. We hope to establish meaningful milestones for Korean financial institutions in the Southeast Asian market.”
By Kim Min Jung