Hoban Construction Venture Capital Selected for First Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Fund

- Hoban Construction and GS Construction's Venture Capital (CVC) Successfully Receive Initial Mother Fund Investment
- Mother Fund Investment Amount is Approximately 15 Billion KRW, with Final Fundraising Target Between 35 Billion and 40 Billion KRW

[Hoban CI, Data provided by Hoban Construction]

Hoban Construction and GS Construction's venture capitals (CVCs) have succeeded for the first time in receiving investment from the Korea Fund of Funds (KFoF).

Plan H Ventures (hereinafter Plan H) and Xplo Investment (hereinafter Xplo) were selected as fund managers in the KFoF investment project. Plan H is the venture capital of Hoban Construction, and Xplo is the venture capital of GS Construction. Hoban Construction and GS Construction's CVCs plan to form a fund encompassing the construction industry to discover and invest in companies possessing future technologies in the land, infrastructure, and transport sectors. This is the first time they have been selected for the KFoF investment project, drawing significant attention from the industry.

This fund plans to launch a fund worth 35 to 40 billion KRW based on the KFoF investment of 15 billion KRW, with Hoban Construction and GS Construction participating as major investors. They have already secured an additional 1.5 billion KRW from the Jeollabuk-do investment project, and some construction companies and financial institutions are reportedly considering investments. Since the establishment of Plan H by Hoban Construction in 2019, Hoban Construction and GS Construction have continued cooperative activities for innovation in the construction industry, and with the establishment of GS Construction's Xplo in 2022, this collaborative project has been completed.

This fund adopts a strategy to focus investments on companies possessing future technologies in the domestic land, infrastructure, and transport sectors, using policy fund money from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport account. While existing land and transport funds have focused on autonomous driving software and urban air mobility (UAM) investments, Hoban Construction and GS Construction plan to use this fund to also discover companies in smart construction and drone sectors. The main investment areas include drones, smart logistics, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, smart construction, digital engineering, Building Information Modeling (BIM), green remodeling, and spatial information businesses.

Kim Daeheon, Chief Planning Officer of Hoban Group, said, “Taking part in this policy fund, we will maximize synergy by leveraging the strengths of Hoban Construction and GS Construction and create a new model of win-win cooperation at the construction industry level.” He added, “We will provide various open innovation opportunities to startups that will grow into future unicorn companies by utilizing the diverse industrial infrastructure of Hoban Construction and GS Construction.”

Meanwhile, Plan H of Hoban Construction has been managing four funds since its establishment in 2019, and Xplo, established in 2022, is currently managing two funds it formed independently. After being selected as entrusted fund managers, Plan H of Hoban Construction and Xplo of GS Construction plan to complete the fund formation within three months.