Big asset management companies made most of lush offerings of commercial sites in South Korea amid fizzled real estate boom, adding 20.8 trillion won ($14.9 billion) worth commercial property riches in the first eight months of this year.

According to proptech firm Rsquare’s analysis of top asset management and trust firms in their commercial property deals worth more than 10 billion won ($7.19 million) from January to August, Mirae Asset Global Investments topped the shopper list with a spending of 5.32 trillion won that mostly went to the purchase of the International Finance Center (IFC), a landmark building at the financial district of Yeouido in Seoul, at 4.1 trillion won earlier this year.

IGIS Asset Management ranked No. 2 with 2.81 trillion won worth, followed by Mastern Investment Management with 1.77 trillion won worth, Jimei Korea with 940 billion won worth, and Koramco Reits & Trust with 898 billion won worth.

The top five real estate funds’ combined deals accounted for 56 percent of the entire 20.8 trillion won worth commercial real estate deals, including office buildings and logistics centers, over the cited period. During the same period last year, Koramco ranked first with 2.63 trillion won, followed by IGIS with 1.29 trillion won, Mastern with 1.23 trillion won, Mplus Asset Management with 502 billion won, and K-REITs & Partners with 454 billion won. Their combined purchases accounted for 54 percent of the total, according to Rsquare.

According to the latest trend, local real estate asset management firms such as IGIS, Mastern, and Koramco have emerged as strong players in the local commercial building market, targeting large offerings in Seoul. IGIS and Mastern have built success in real estate investment, while Koramco mainly focuses on REITs and real estate funds.

By Park Joon-hyung and Jenny Lee

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