Kim Seong-hwan, Korea Investment & Securities President: "Expanding AI Data-Center Financing with Global Financial Institutions"

【Financial News New York = Reporter Lee Byung-chul】 Korea Investment & Securities President Kim Seong-hwan is expanding cooperation with global financial institutions on artificial intelligence (AI) data-center financing and Integrated Investment Account (IMA) management. The company also plans to increase monthly payout products for domestic investors in response to the global high-interest-rate environment, including rising U.S. Treasury yields. Kim visited London and New York to hold investor-relations (IR) events and strengthen the company’s network with global asset managers and investment banks (IBs).
At a press conference held at LOTTE HOTELS & RESORTS in New York on the 10th local time, Kim identified data centers as a new business area under discussion with global financial institutions. He said, "We will live in the generation of AI, and data centers will ultimately be necessary to make this a reality. Data centers require electricity and water, but they also require an enormous amount of money." He added, "We have had many discussions with global financial institutions about jointly financing data centers."
The company aims to turn growing AI investment—and the resulting demand for data-center construction and financing—into a new IB business opportunity. Kim emphasized the potential for collaboration with global financial institutions, saying, "Korea Investment & Securities has the largest market share in data-center construction financing in Korea."
Amid a recent sharp rise in government bond yields in the United States and other developed countries, the company also discussed IMA management and product strategies for domestic customers. "Every business of a securities company is sensitive to interest rates," he said. "One of the things we discussed extensively with global asset managers this time was managing the liquidity assets of IMA." He explained that the company is reviewing financial products, including bonds, with global asset managers to secure liquidity that can immediately meet customer withdrawals while still generating a steady interest income.
The company also plans to expand monthly payout products that take advantage of high interest rates. Kim said, "Domestic customers are very fond of monthly payout products," adding, "We are discussing expanding products that pay a fixed return each month in the form of dividends or interest, rather than products that pay the principal and interest together at maturity."
Kim expressed caution about increased interest-rate volatility, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note approaching 5%. He said Korea Investment & Securities manages more than 40 trillion won in bonds and noted, "It is true that things become difficult whenever interest rates rise. We need to use a variety of management strategies, including extensive hedging and adjusting duration."
During the trip, Korea Investment & Securities successively strengthened its partnerships with global financial institutions including Fidelity Investments, The Carlyle Group and PIMCO. The strategy goes beyond simply bringing overseas financial products into Korea for sale; it aims to connect those partnerships to joint product development and the discovery of IB deals.
Kim said, "I would like to earn the title of Korea’s securities firm that sells the most global products, but I also want to become the financial partner that global financial institutions most want to work with." He added, "Our goal is to become the company they work with first whenever they do business with a Korean financial institution."




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