December 04, 2024

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The Seoul Finance Center in Jung-gu, central Seoul (Yonhap)

At least three asset management firms joined the race to purchase the Seoul Finance Center, a landmark office building in central Seoul, in a deal that could be worth up to 1.5 trillion won ($1.07 billion).

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC opened bids for the sale of the 30-story building with the deal’s financial advisor CBRE Korea on Monday.

Two Korean investors -- Koramco Reits & Trust and Koramco Asset Management -- separately participated in the bid. US-based real estate investment firm BGO also placed a bid. GIC is expected to announce a preferred bidder after interviewing the respective firms.

The world's sixth-largest sovereign wealth fund is seeking to rake in a five-fold profit by offloading the asset at around 1.5 trillion won from its purchasing price of 355 billion won in 2000.

With a total floor area of ​​119,000 square meters, the building houses a number of global and Korean financial firms including Mizuho Bank Seoul Branch, the Agricultural Bank of China, Nomura Financial Investment Korea and Mastercard International Korea.

Despite the symbolic value of the Seoul Finance Center and its historically significant location in Gwanghwamun, GIC's expected sale price is much higher than what the market sees.

“There seems to be a big price gap between the seller and potential buyers. If GIC proposed a reasonable price, there should’ve been more bidders than three,” a source familiar with the deal said.

GIC has been snapping up Korean properties since the early 2000s, including premium business building Gangnam Finance Center and Shinhan Invest Tower in Yeouido.

The sovereign wealth fund has been recouping its real estate investment by offloading its office properties near the Seoul Finance Center.

In October, GIC closed the deal with Koramco Asset Management to sell off the Exchange Seoul -- a 15-story office property -- for approximately 270 billion won.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)