Mirae Asset Financial Group with near $15 bn equity to double down on global M&As

Mirae Asset Financial Group is gearing up for accelerated global foray upon rising to the ranks of Asia’s major investment banks with its equity capital nearing 17 trillion won ($14.6 billion).

Park Hyeon-joo, chairman and founder of Mirae Asset Financial Group, expects the group’s equity to top 17 trillion won this year and pre-tax income to reach 2.4 trillion won, according to his recent interview with Maeil Business Newspaper. It would not be long before the group’s equity to hit 30 trillion won, added Park.

The financial conglomerate’s equity totaled at 16.6 trillion won as of June 30, 2021, according to the regulatory filings of the group companies. Mirae Asset Securities Co., the group’s controlling unit, held equity capital of 10.0 trillion won on a consolidated basis, Mirae Asset Capital Co. 2.3 trillion won, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. 2.1 trillion won, Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co. 1.9 trillion won, and Mirae Asset Venture Investment Co. 216.6 billion won.

The financial conglomerate plan to bulk up further through bold overseas investments.

Since opening its first overseas office in Hong Kong in 2003, the group now operates in 11 countries across the world. In the second quarter of this year, Mirae Asset Securities raked in 111.5 billion won in net profit before taxes from overseas business.

The group has led various investments, especially in real estate, across the world. Its first overseas investment was the buyout of an office building in Shanghai in 2006. Its other major investments include Four Seasons Hotel in Australia in 2013 and a landmark office building in Paris in 2019.

Since then, it has expanded investment to add global logistics centers amid e-commerce boom.

The group is also actively seeking new business opportunities through partnership. Mirae Asset established a strategic partnership with Korean internet giant Naver by exchanging shares worth 500 billion won in 2017. The two partners created Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, worth 1 trillion won, in 2018, for joint investment in promising startups.

Mirae Asset Securities has been buying back its shares to improve the shareholders’ value, and its treasury shares currently account for 22.9 percent of total outstanding shares. However, instead of cancelling buyback shares, Mirae Asset is expected to use ample treasury shares in looking for new business opportunities.

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