December 21, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Mirae Asset Group said on Dec. 12 it is creating a property fund worth 1.8 trillion won (US$1.65 billion) with aims to build a new venture town in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province.

“I’m very excited to create a new stage for young entrepreneurs,” Mirae Asset Chairman Park Hyeon-joo said in a statement. “We will prove financial investments can contribute to social goods through this project.”

Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo

The new complex will be located on a combined 300,000 square-meter site at the center of the Pangyo Techno Valley that is often dubbed as “Korea’s Silicon Valley” as it is home to several tech giants such as Kakao and Nexon and hundreds of startups and venture firms.

Mirae Asset plans to sign a contract to purchase the site with developer Alphadome City within the year and construction is expected to start next year for three years.

The group is also reportedly considering acquiring another nascent site worth 450 billion won for the complex’s possible expansion.

Mirae Asset said the new cluster will mostly serve IT and biotech startups, generating 14,000 jobs.

The mega project comes after the Korean government announced on Dec. 11 it would expand a second startup complex in Pangyo, south of Seoul, to further boost the nation’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. 

Adding to the first 661,000-square-meter complex launched in 2011, the second facility will nestle on a 440,000 square-meter lot with construction to be completed by 2022.

In the meantime, companies based at the Pangyo Techno Valley generated a combined 77.5 trillion won in sales last year, with an annual growth rate of 13 percent since 2013.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)