"Recovery Possible as Early as Second Half"‥KIC Discusses 2021 Financial Market Outlook

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Domestic public institution overseas investment officers gathered in one place to forecast the 2021 economy and financial markets and share investment opinions.

On the 25th afternoon, Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) announced on the 26th that it held the 33rd meeting of the 'Public Institution Overseas Investment Council (HaeTuHyeop)' online at the KIC headquarters to create synergy effects for overseas investments of domestic public institutions.

At the meeting, officers from domestic institutional investors such as the Central Association, Mutual Aid Association, and Pension Funds attended to forecast the 2021 economy and financial markets and expand mutual networks.

James Elliot, Head of Asset Allocation at global asset management firm Ninety One, who gave a presentation, said, "In 2021, global economic recovery is expected to continue, but market volatility is also expected to be high depending on the COVID-19 situation. Since the effects of fiscal and monetary policies may appear in a short period, it is necessary to pay attention to investments in growth asset classes and emerging markets such as Asia and China under these circumstances."

Following this, Lee Geon-woong, Head of Asset Allocation Office at KIC, said, "If the global economic recovery continues due to expanded vaccination, accommodative monetary policies, and expansionary fiscal policies in each country, it is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels as early as the second half of the year. However, if economic normalization proceeds rapidly, policy normalization may be implemented early, and risks such as the rekindling of US-China conflicts and position concentration in risky assets remain, so caution is needed."

President Choi Hee-nam said, "KIC has continuously developed HaeTuHyeop to expand partnerships with domestic investors, including sharing overseas investment information and investment know-how. As financial market volatility is increasing this year, we will explore various ways to practically contribute to improving the performance of domestic institutional investors in the global investment market."

HaeTuHyeop is the largest institutional investor council in Korea, launched in 2014 to discover global investment opportunities and share investment know-how and information among domestic public sector investment institutions. Currently, 25 institutions participate, including KIC, Korea Post, Government Employees Pension Service, and Private School Teachers' Pension.