News Hub: Strategic investments and policy reforms across Asia and the Gulf

Major investors and policymakers are reshaping strategies, deploying capital and rolling out reforms, underscoring Asia's central role in global financial flows.

KOREA CAPITAL DRIVE

In South Korea, Blackstone has acquired a majority stake in Sanha Logistics Park II, a major dry-storage logistics development in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. Blackstone announced the partnership with ESR, which remains a co-investor and development manager. The 334,000 square meter facility, located along the Gyeongbu Expressway, which is set for completion in 2028 will support advanced warehouse automation for e-commerce companies, third-party logistics providers and retailers.

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC has become a minority shareholder in South Korea’s largest non-life insurer, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, with a 5.01% stake valued at about $1.1 billion (KRW1.54 trillion). The investment is classified as passive, meaning GIC will not participate in management.

The National Pension Service has teamed up with LG AI Research to integrate artificial intelligence into fund management, starting with an AI-powered foreign exchange (FX) analysis service. The collaboration combines NPS’s investment expertise with LG’s EXAONE Business Intelligence platform, used by global institutions, to improve efficiency, predictive modelling and long-term returns.

SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG REGULATORY PUSH

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will select hedge fund managers for its investment programme based on their commitment to building capabilities in Singapore, including scaling local operations, talent development and future investments, while also monitoring their strategies and fund performance.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said the programme aims to deepen Singapore’s hedge fund ecosystem, which has grown at an annual rate of 7.5% to nearly S$7 trillion ($5.5 trillion) in assets.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has unveiled a package of reforms to strengthen its REIT and ETF markets, including legislative changes to allow REIT privatisations and restructurings, waiving stamp duty on transfers of non-residential properties into listed REITs, and streamlining approvals to attract foreign listings. On ETFs, the measures aim to expand cross-border access, encourage Chinese insurance fund participation, and raise the allocation cap within the HK$1.5 trillion ($191.2 billion) MPF system.

Such steps are designed to draw more global capital, promote product innovation and reinforce Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s wealth management hub.

INVESTMENT CONNECTIVITY

Meanwhile, in the Gulf, Sohar International has deepened investment connectivity between Oman and Asia Pacific by signing memorandums of understanding with E Fund HK and Templewater during the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, which coincided with the opening of its Asia Pacific office in the city. The agreements aim to facilitate co-investment, project financing and distribution channels, linking Omani institutions with regional capital markets.

This marks the first presence of an Omani bank in Hong Kong and underscores Sohar’s strategy to position itself as a bridge for cross-border capital flows between the Gulf and Asia.