KB Asset Management's 'Balhae Infrastructure' Institutional Demand Forecast Completed... Subscription on 18-19th

KB Asset Management's private infrastructure fund, ‘KB Balhae Infrastructure Investment Company’ (Balhae Infrastructure), announced on the 14th that it has finalized the public offering price at 8,400 KRW. The subscription for public offering shares will take place over two days, from the 18th to the 19th.

Balhae Infrastructure completed a demand forecast targeting institutional investors over three business days from the 8th to the 12th. The competition rate was 3.99 to 1, which is considered a solid performance based on dividend yield stability despite the recent uncertain stock market environment and the wave of IPO withdrawals.

Balhae Infrastructure reduced the public offering volume by 20%, from 23,809,524 shares to 19,047,620 shares, changing to a market-friendly public offering structure. The mandatory lock-up ratio of existing shareholders is 84.5% of the total issued shares after the offering, which is expected to contribute to stable stock price formation after listing.

Industry insiders expect that Balhae Infrastructure will have more demand from retail investors than institutions, as it is suitable for pension investments aimed at retirement preparation. In the public offering subscription, 60% of the shares were allocated to retail investors, more than to institutions.

A KB Securities official said, "Balhae Infrastructure is a medium-risk, medium-return financial product suitable for long-term investment and a pension investment product, so we expect strong demand from retail investors. Based on high stability and profitability, it will become a leading high-dividend investment product in Korea."

Balhae Infrastructure will conduct a subscription for 11,428,572 shares targeting retail investors from the 18th to the 19th. Retail investor subscriptions will be conducted through the lead underwriter KB Securities and co-underwriters Kiwoom Securities and Daishin Securities.

Balhae Infrastructure plans to raise 160 billion KRW through the public offering for listing on the Korea Exchange, and the raised funds will be used for repaying existing borrowings and investing in new assets. After completing the IPO process, it will be listed at the end of this month. Upon listing, it will become the first domestic native public infrastructure fund.

Individual investors investing in the infrastructure fund through a dedicated account for collective investment schemes can receive a separate tax benefit of 15.4% on dividend income up to a limit of 100 million KRW. With an inflation-linked income structure and low management risk, it can maintain profitability and stability even in high inflation situations or periods of rapid interest rate changes.