Shinhan Asset Management announced on the 5th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Science and ICT to establish the ‘Science and Technology Innovation Fund’.
The MOU involved three banks that contributed funds?Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank?as well as Shinhan Asset Management, selected as the fund manager, and the National Research Foundation of Korea, which is responsible for managing research and development funds.
The Science and Technology Innovation Fund is a specialized fund in the science sector created with funds from commercial banks. It focuses on investing in domestic technology commercialization companies and companies related to the 12 national strategic technologies. By investing in technology commercialization companies such as research institute startups and public technology transfer companies, it is expected to foster the technology commercialization ecosystem and contribute to the growth of innovative R&D companies.
Through expanded investment in companies related to the 12 strategic technologies, the fund also plans to support the protection and nurturing of advanced technologies and secure strategic technologies in response to rapid changes in the technological environment.
The Science and Technology Innovation Fund will be established with a total of 494 billion KRW contributed by Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank, which were selected as the dedicated banks for depositing and managing R&D funds from national research and development projects. Shinhan Asset Management will manage the fund.
The fund will operate as a mother fund by investing in self-managed funds created by startup nurturing institutions (ACs) and venture capitalists (VCs), which in turn invest in domestic R&D companies. Over the next four years starting this year, the mother fund will raise 125 billion KRW annually, and private funds will be additionally matched by self-managed fund operators to form a total fund of over 250 billion KRW each year.
As a result, it is expected that more than 1 trillion KRW in funds will be raised and managed, and each fund formed annually will be operated for eight years before being liquidated.
Yoo Sang-im, Minister of Science and ICT, said, "The Science and Technology Innovation Fund will play an important role in commercializing innovative domestic technologies and supporting our technologies to be competitive in the international market." He added, "The Ministry of Science and ICT and the private sector will join forces to lead investment and innovation for technology commercialization and strengthening international competitiveness."
The Ministry of Science and ICT and Shinhan Asset Management will begin investing in domestic R&D companies from the second half of this year.
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