South Korea-based financial services firm Hana Financial Group has set up a ₩1 trillion ($894m) fund-of-funds that will provide debt financing to venture capital firms, NewsWorld has reported.
Hana Ventures launched last month and is headquartered in the city of Seoul. It plans to deploy the capital by 2021, targeting VC firms investing in biotech and information, communication and technology (ICT) product developers.
The company has put up ₩100bn for a fourth Industrial Revolution fund expected to be formally established in Q1 2019 as part of the initiative. In addition to supplying loans, Hana is also seeking to make direct investments in investment vehicles.
Despite its focus on a fund-of-funds structure, Hana Financial is the first notable financial services firm in Korea to publicly set up a dedicated corporate venturing vehicle.
Kim Dong-hwan, president of Hana Ventures, said: “Hana Ventures will be faithful to its role as a corporate venture capital. By investing in promising technology ventures, we will help the Korean economy achieve innovation-based growth.”