South Korea's national pension fund opens Singapore office

SOUTH Korea's 496.2 trillion won (S$596 billion) state-run pension fund officially opened an office in Singapore on Thursday, it said in a press release.

The National Pension Service's (NPS) Singapore office is its first overseas location in Asia and its third worldwide after New York and London, it noted, adding that it would now be "strategically positioned to explore further investment opportunities in overseas markets" such as South-east Asia, India and Australia.

Setting up a Singapore office will also help it expand its investment partnerships with global financial leaders in Singapore, it said.

NPS chairman and chief executive officer Choi Kwang said at an official opening ceremony at Marina Bay Sands on Thursday that the fund aimed to diversify its portfolio by strengthening its overseas investment infrastructure, according to the release.

Foreign assets accounted for 111.4 trillion won or 22.5 per cent of the fund's total assets under management as at June 2015, it said, adding that it plans to lift that percentage to about 30 per cent of the fund by 2020.