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The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 30th that KVIC ASIA, a Singaporean subsidiary of Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC), has obtained full approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for capital market services (CMS) licensing to manage variable capital company (VCC) funds.
The VCC is a fund-specific corporate structure introduced by Singapore in 2020. It allows multiple sub-funds under a single VCC to be managed independently. The structure is considered advantageous for attracting global investment funds as it does not require public disclosure of shareholder registers and offers tax incentives.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans for KVIC's Singapore subsidiary to act as the fund manager (GP), establish a VCC, attract diverse global investment capital, and create sub-funds. This will open pathways for global venture capitalists (VCs) to easily invest in Korean startups.
This license acquisition marks the first case where Korea Venture Investment Corporation, an institutional investor in venture investment policy finance, has received asset management approval from a local overseas authority. Consequently, KVIC's Singapore subsidiary has established the regulatory foundation to directly create and manage funds locally. The key licensing procedures for establishing offshore global venture funds have also been finalized.
Previously, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced plans in its 'Comprehensive Plan for Leapfrogging into Four Major Venture Nations' released last year to establish an offshore global master fund in Singapore, a financial hub in Asia, and expand it to $300 million (approximately 414.2 billion won) by 2030.
To achieve this, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Korea Venture Investment Corporation established a local subsidiary in Singapore last April and have been pursuing local talent recruitment, building operational systems, and obtaining fund management licensing from MAS. Following provisional approval received in July, full approval was obtained on the 20th of this month.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Korea Venture Investment Corporation plan to actively proceed with follow-up procedures, including VCC establishment and sub-fund creation, aiming to establish K-VCC by the second half of this year.
Noh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We will strengthen connections between global investors and our venture/startup sectors based in Singapore and expand opportunities for domestic venture capitalists to go overseas. We will nurture K-global venture funds as a core platform for venture investment in Asia."
[MoneyToday Startup Media Platform Unicorn Factory]
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