KAMCO shares expertise on asset management with int’l partners
Korea’s economy marked remarkable growth, transforming from an underdeveloped nation to a developed economy within a few generations.
It has gone through numerous economic crises during its progress, including the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s, the global financial crisis in 2008 and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched in 1962 as the country’s first “non-performing loan (NPL) resolution agency,” the Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) has played an essential role as a crisis reliever, supporting the recovery of vulnerable households and corporates.
Now, KAMCO is the “permanent public asset management institution,” the first of its kind in the world.
During the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, KAMCO was in charge of managing the NPL Resolution Fund and swiftly acquired and resolved the surging NPLs of financial institutions following a series of conglomerate bankruptcies.
During the 2008 global financial crisis, KAMCO established the Corporate Restructuring Fund to purchase distressed assets such as real estate project financing loans from the savings bank, thereby preventing insolvency from spreading throughout the economy.
Most recently, it has been supporting small business owners and self-employed — who have been suffering from paying back loans due to the COVID-19 pandemic — with the New Start Fund.
KAMCO is now sharing know-how and experience with other countries.
As its NPL Resolution Fund took the global spotlight for its swiftness and efficiency, KAMCO has provided training sessions for 42 institutions in 16 countries so far, including China’s Huarong Asset Management Corp.
In 2013, KAMCO shared knowhow with Vietnamese NPL management agency DATC under the Korean Government Knowledge Sharing Program and later provided consulting services for Kazakhstan, Colombia and Myanmar, contributing to the establishment of the global financial safety net.
In response to the elevated macroeconomic uncertainty, KAMCO co-established the International Public AMC Forum with the Asian Development Bank with the joint participation of institutions from countries including Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Mongolia.
They are cooperating for efficient resolution of NPLs and to strengthen financial stability in Asia, holding annual meetings, international training seminars and joint research.
KAMCO is also taking the lead in supporting the developing countries’ digital transformation. KAMCO, which has been entrusted with the management of state-owned property by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, since 1997, has been contributing to increasing the value of national property by carrying out property development. Based on the expertise and know-how accumulated heretofore, KAMCO conducted a policy advisory consulting for the Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2020, together with the Inter-American Development Bank.
At the request of the Ecuadorian government, KAMCO also conducted the preliminary consultation in collaboration with a private Korean IT company, for adoption of a Korea-developed state-owned property management IT system there.
“By fully utilizing and sharing the expertise and know-how accumulated over the past 60 years on distressed asset management, KAMCO will continue to strengthen our role as the financial diplomat on the global stage, enhancing the financial stability,” KAMCO Chairman and CEO Kwon Nam-ju said.