Australian institutional investment manager IFM Investors said Thursday it has opened a new office in South Korea to meet the country’s growing demand for infrastructure and other non-traditional assets.

The investment house, with over $74 billion funds under management, is owned by 28 Australian pension funds. It provides investment services across infrastructure, debt, listed equities and private equity. The Seoul office would be its eighth outpost after Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

IFM said its decision to enter Korea was backed by the growing interest from Korean pension and insurance investors in infrastructure and other alternative asset classes to fund retirement for the rapidly graying society.

With a 20-year track record in infrastructure investing, IFM currently manages $32 billion - nearly half of its total funds - in infrastructure on behalf of more than 210 institutional investors.

The new office in Seoul will offer a range of investment opportunities overseas for Korean institutional players seeking to diversify their portfolio, IFM said.

The global consultancy McKinsey estimates that the world would require $3.3 trillion in investment every year to finance infrastructure projects until 2030.

By Park Eun-jin and Kim Hyo-jin

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