Mirae Asset to launch $252 mn Europe infrastructure fund

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is preparing to launch a 300 billion won ($252 million) vehicle to invest in a European infrastructure fund.

According to investment banking industry sources on Sept. 8, Mirae Asset is raising as much as 300 billion won from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF), Korean pension funds and insurance companies to invest in the Equitix Fund VI, operated by the UK’s Equitix Investment Management Ltd.

Equitix is a 1.5 trillion won ($1.26 billion) real estate investment trust that mostly invests in public-private partnership (PPP) projects such as government buildings, hospitals and schools in the UK and the European Union member countries. It is one of the few global REITs that can satisfy both growth and income investors.

Investments in such assets usually generate smaller returns, compared to other type of infrastructure assets such as airports, highways and bridges, but are safer and thus deliver stable returns.

The Equitix Fund targets around 8% annual return for a 25-year investment period, and pays out dividends twice a year -- in January and July.

Equitix Investment Management, established in 2007, holds some 9 trillion won ($7.57 billion) under management and mostly invests in the healthcare, highways, education, social housing, government accommodation and utility infrastructure sectors. It has invested 12 trillion won worth of funds in infrastructure assets in the past couple of years.

Mirae Asset Global Investments operates worldwide across 12 markets, with over $147 billion in assets under management.

Write to Seon-Pyo Hong at rickey@hankyung.com