Hanwha Life to spur global real estate investment via US subsidiary

South Korea’s Hanwha Life Insurance Co. is set to kick off direct investment in overseas real estate via its subsidiary in the US, according to investment banking sources on Aug. 10.

The Korean insurer earlier this month injected 211.3 billion won ($161 million) into its US-based subsidiary DP Real Estate America LLC, a real estate investment firm founded in June 2022. It was first reported by the Bell, a Korean financial news outlet. 

Wholly owned by Hanwha Life, DP Real Estate America is the Korean insurer’s first real estate investment subsidiary targeting overseas properties.

The capital injection is to strengthen Hanwha Life’s alternative investment portfolios, as well as enhance the insurer’s competency in global asset management, a Hanwha official said.

Hanwha Life is hopeful of raising its rate of return by expanding overseas real estate investment – its rate of return on investment dropped to 2.84% in the first half of 2022 from 3.58% in the first half of 2020.

As of end-June 2022, Hanwha Life manages 98.5 trillion won in assets, of which alternative investment makes up 22%. Overseas real estate, all through indirect investments, reaches around 3.1 trillion won.

Updated with direct/indirect investment on Aug. 11.

Write to Jun-Ho Cha at chacha@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.