Busan City Forms 55.1 Billion Won Future Industry Transformation Fund... Catalyst for 250 Billion Won Investment

Joint Investment from Commercial Banks and Korea Development Bank

Support for Eco-Friendly, AI, and Digital Transformation

Busan City (Mayor Jun Jaesu) will establish the “Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund II,” a fund-of-funds totaling 55.1 billion won, to foster future industries.

On July 27, the city announced the creation of the fund-of-funds amounting to 55.1 billion won, comprised of 50 billion won from the “Bank Consortium Fund for Mid-sized Enterprises” established by five major commercial banks, 4.1 billion won from the city, and 1 billion won from Korea Development Bank.

Based on this, the city plans to leverage additional private capital to form sub-funds exceeding 250 billion won in total, and to invest in companies in the future industry sectors, including eco-friendly industries, AI Transformation (AX), and Digital Transformation (DX).

This fund has expanded its investment targets to include not only companies with significant sales volumes, but also those with strong research and development (R&D) capabilities and high growth potential. The fund will also support new industry transformation and business advancement among small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Busan, as well as in Ulsan and Gyeongnam regions.

The city plans to conduct an open call for sub-fund managers in July and August, then proceed with the selection and formation of sub-funds starting in September. The fund-of-funds will be managed by Korea Growth Investment Management.

The selected managers will establish four sub-funds and provide support for sourcing and investing in companies, post-investment management, and enhancing corporate value. Incentives will also be developed to promote greater participation from local asset managers, as well as to encourage asset managers based in the greater Seoul area to expand into local markets.

Busan City recently made its first investment in the local company DRAXION and plans to continue expanding the future industry transformation fund, building an investment ecosystem tailored to the business growth stages of regional companies.

Mayor Jun Jaesu commented, “Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund II will provide the investment foundation needed to strengthen the future competitiveness of regional industries. We will expand investment in highly promising regional companies to position Busan as a new growth engine for the Republic of Korea.”

Busan City Hall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.