South Korea real estate investment firm Koramco Asset Management Co. is set to target the data center sector and invest heavily in growing its presence locally.
The Korea Economic Daily reports the real estate giant plans to invest 10 trillion won ($7 billion) in domestic data centers by 2032, aiming to become the country’s largest data center management firm, according to investment banking sources.
Koramco is said to be forecasting that its new data center portfolio will deliver a combined IT-load capacity of 1GW.
The company is reportedly seeking to raise 5 trillion won ($3.65bn) in a fund dedicated to data centers by 2028, with the remainder to be funded through debt financing. Koramco is considering launching a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) backed by its new data center portfolio and listing it on Korea’s Stock Exchange.
Park Hyung-seok, CEO of Koramco Asset Management, told local press: “Koramco has accumulated practical expertise over the entire investment cycle of data centers, from site discovery to design, permitting, construction, and operational management through the Gasan IDC development. Based on this, we will prove to the market that data centers can establish themselves as stable investment assets beyond simply being communication infrastructure in Korea.”
Founded in 2001, Koramco operates a number of REITs. The firm has more than $18 billion in assets under management. It has a number of disparate data center investments across its various funds.
Koramco previously invested in the construction of the K Square Data Center in Seoul’s Gasan Digital Complex in 2021. The 11-story, 41,215 sqm (443,635 sq ft) facility is set to be completed over the summer. The firm has also funded additional large-scale data center developments in Seoul and Busan.
This month saw Koramco and LG Uplus announce they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a cooperative relationship in overall data center development and operation. Further details haven’t been shared.
Park Hyung-seok, CEO of Koramco Asset Management, said: “Through this development and business agreement for ‘K-Quare Data Center Plus’, Koramco has established a professional foundation for the entire process of investment, development, and operation in the data center market.”
Kwon Yong-hyun, head of LG U+’s corporate division, added: “This partnership is of great significance as LG U+ is taking its first step into the customized infrastructure business by launching a full-scale challenge in the data center field.”
LG spin-out LF Corp (previously known as LG Fashion) is a major investor in Koramco.