Korea Investment Corporation Discusses Global Infrastructure Investment Strategies with Domestic Institutional Investors

Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) organized a forum with domestic and overseas institutional investors to assess the impact of the U.S. Trump administration's tariff policies and to discuss global infrastructure investment strategies.

On May 20, KIC held the 50th Overseas Investment Council for Public Institutions (HaeTuHyup) at its Seoul headquarters. The meeting was attended by representatives responsible for overseas investments from domestic institutional investors, including central associations, mutual aid associations, and pension funds. Presentations were delivered by division heads from the global asset management firm Macquarie Asset Management.

Korea Investment Corporation

Ben Way, Group Head, stated, "While concerns over stagflation are growing in major economies, infrastructure assets are attractive defensive assets in the current volatile investment environment, considering their ability to hedge against inflation and generate stable cash flows."

There was further analysis that U.S. tariff policy would also have a negative impact on the country's own economic growth.

Leigh Harrison, Head of Real Assets, projected, "Due to Trump administration policies, the U.S. weighted average real tariff rate could surge to as high as 20% this year. If such high tariff rates materialize, a slowdown in growth will be inevitable not only for major global economies but also for the U.S. itself."

Following this, Ed Northam, Head of Core Renewables, commented, "Despite policy changes under the Trump administration, the price competitiveness of renewable energy and the trend of increasing electricity demand will continue. Based on this outlook, the U.S. renewable energy and energy transition investment market remains attractive."

Founded in Australia in 1969, Macquarie Group managed approximately AUD 942.7 billion in infrastructure, real estate, and private equity globally as of September last year. Its subsidiary, Macquarie Asset Management, entered Korea in 2001 and currently manages about AUD 18.5 billion in the Korean market.

Park Ilyoung, CEO of Korea Investment Corporation, who hosted the event, said in his opening remarks, "In today's investment environment, where uncertainty has increased, I hope this forum will serve as an opportunity for domestic institutional investors to seek practical ways to secure excellent investment opportunities in the global infrastructure investment market."

He added, "On the occasion of the 50th Overseas Investment Council, Korea Investment Corporation will continue to serve as a hub for global investment insights, fostering cooperation and collaboration among domestic institutional investors."

HaeTuHyup was established in 2014 under the leadership of Korea Investment Corporation as a platform for domestic public sector investment institutions to cooperate in the process of overseas investment. Since then, it has been held quarterly at KIC's Seoul headquarters. Korea Investment Corporation actively shares investment information and know-how to help HaeTuHyup members efficiently discover overseas investment opportunities. Currently, a total of 26 domestic institutions are members of HaeTuHyup.