Benson Lee Filmmaker Sony Pictures Entertainment

John Lagerling Director, Android Global Partnerships at Google

Troy Malone Evernote General Manager, Asia Pacific

David Lee  Co-Founder, Seoul Space / Co-Founding Partner,  XG Ventures / Venture Partner,  SK Telecom Ventures

Jay Henningsen Director, Emerging Business Team, Microsoft

Janice Fraser CEO/Principal, LUXr

Arne Roomann-Kurrik Developer Advocate, Twitter

Winners will receive cash prizes of up to 10 million won as well as opportunities to participate in KOTRA programs supporting IT companies, including placement in KOTRA’s overseas IT Support Centers, and recommendation for investment by Korea’s Global Win-Win Fund.

To find out more, visit the Startup Battle Korea homepage (Korean) or contact startupbattlekorea@seoulspace.co.kr

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As part of its foreign investment promotion efforts, Invest KOREA will hold Korea PE Insight 2012 in San Francisco on June 26 and in New York City on June 28. Korea PE Insight will bring together representatives from Korea’s leading private equity and venture capital firms. The event is intended to give participants the chance to learn about investment opportunities in Korea’s private equity market, meet with fund managers, and make connections with industry professionals.

Korea PE Insight 2012 will feature panel discussions by Korean fund managers who will share strategies and talk about recent issues relevant to the industry. There will also be opportunities to conduct 1:1 meetings with Korean GPs to candidly discuss their individual investment approaches and fund-raising plans. A networking luncheon will also provide participants with additional chances to make connections and build upon existing relationships.

Please see this pdf brochure for a more in-depth look at the program. Those interested in attending or participating should contact Ross Geesman via email at rgeesman@kotra.or.kr or via telephone at +82-2-3460-7536.

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Deal Sourcing Opportunities

• 1:1 Meetings with Korean firms seeking investments
• Opportunities for meetings with major Korean GPs and LPs

Insightful Speeches and Panel Dicussions

Confirmed participants include:

• Yeong Shik Yang  National Pension Service
• Park Yong Deuk Korea Investment Corporation
• Hoon Jang  Korea Finance Corporation
• Won Hee Lee  Korea Post
• Yu Shin Jeong  Korea Venture Investment Corporation
• Hiroaki Saito Capital Dynamics
• Hwae Hoon Jeong  DFJ Athena
• Teppei J. Kono  Unison Capital
• Hae Joon Lee  IMM Private Equity
• Kang Seok Lee  Skylake Incuvest
• Jeong Heon Yu  Mirae Private Equity
• Jong Hoon Kim EQ Partners

Discussion Panels and Informative Presentations

• Investment trends, strategies, and opportunities in Korea and Asia
• Sovereign wealth fund asset allocation & investment strategy
• Strategies for international and Korean GP cooperation
• Korean institutional investor diversification and geographic asset allocation strategies

Diverse Attendees

• Institutional, private equity, and venture capital investors
• Korean corporations, industry specialists, and advisers

For a provisional schedule, please click here. Please note that the details will be subject to change.

Register to attend HERE.

For  inquiries, please contact:

Ross Geesman

rgeesman@kotra.or.kr

+82-02-3460-7536

Here are a few images from last year’s event.

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Please see this post for more information or get in touch with us at rgeesman@kotra.or.kr or jiunpark@kotra.or.kr. We hope to see many of our readers there!

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The conference is intended to provide opportunities for business development and partnership formation between Korean and international businesses. This year there are over 2,500 South Korean companies in attendance making many opportunities for networking and one-on-one meetings to discuss sourcing, joint-ventures and investment.

Registration is for the event is free and can be completed at the website tradesouthkorea.org.

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The main attraction was a presentation made by our special guests, attorneys Jae-young Jang and Byeong-tae Kim of law firm Shin and Kim. The presentation covered amendments to the Korean Commercial Code and their implications for private equity and venture capital investments. While we don’t have permission to distribute their presentation materials, if you leave a comment we will request that a copy be sent to you. Otherwise, take a look at these English language materials related to the commercial code revision and other legal issues here.

The event was attended by 50 people representing 36 private equity and venture capital firms including IMM Private Equity, Goldman Sachs, Mirae Asset Securities, and Vertex. Media attendees included the bell, Merger Market and Dow Jones. By all accounts, the event was a success and so many people registered that the room we rented was filled to capacity.

Keep an eye out for announcements about next year’s events in Korea and around the world, the first being the Korean Investment Workshop at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong in January.

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The workshop will kick off with an opening speech from  Invest KOREA Commissioner, Hank Ahn, who will briefly outline the role and goals of the organization. Then, an official from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy will give a presentation explaining the Ministry’s strategy to support Korea’s New Growth Engines and introducing the nation’s investment environment. After, five investment-seeking companies from Korea’s high-performing IT, software, and cleantech industries will talk about their exciting new technologies and business models. Lastly, co-investment opportunities for global private equity and venture capital investors will be introduced in an informational overview of the KoFC-backed Global Win-Win Fund.

In the afternoon, after the workshop, investors will have the opportunity to conduct 1:1 meetings with Korean companies at our “AFF Deal Flow” event. Currently 3 listed and 5 unlisted companies are confirmed to attend.

Please contact us at rgeesman@kotra.or.kr or jiunpark@kotra.or.kr for more information.

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The event program consists of presentations, panels, and one-on-one meetings. Two separate tracks, one focusing on private equity and venture capital and the other on real estate, will run concurrently. Both tracks will include presentations and discussions by leading private sector experts on market trends and opportunities.

The following Korean companies will be available, by reservation, for one-on-one meetings that afternoon:

EN Technologies

EN Technologies is emerging as one of Korea’s leading providers of products for controlling, managing, and connecting to green power systems. The company’s core strength is in power electronics, i.e. products that control and manage the flow of power including power supplies, electrical switchgear, and transmission products.

ForMediaTech

ForMediaTech is a developer and marketer of digital imaging software and hardware. The company has developed stereoscopic (3D) technology that separates specific patterns in various media by analyzing colors and shapes in images. They use this technology to create diverse image analysis for conversion into 3D.

Ilshim Global

Ilshim Global is one of the leading producers and developers of microfiber cleaning cloths in Korea. In 2011, the company released a new product, the Windoro-Window Cleaning Robot, which is similar to the Roomba by iRobot, but Windoro uses neodymium magnets cling to windows while cleaning them to a shine.

Jinhae Ocean Resort

Jinhae Ocean Resort is the only SPC at the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ). The company develops and operates the integrated tourism & leisure complex at BJFEZ, one of Korea’s six Free Economic Zones, and provides an ideal living and business environment for foreign investors and their families.

To register to attend the forum or to meet with any of these companies, please contact Hwankuk Kang at kcc2008@kotra.or.kr in Seoul, or Suk-ho Lee at sukholee@kotra.or.kr in London.

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November 3, 2011

Keynote Speech

Scott Kalb, the CIO of the Korea Investment Corporation started the day by talking about the challenge of climate change and the need to reform the global energy infrastructure. According to Kalb, Asia has overtaken all other regions in terms of investment in cleantech, and infrastructure reformation in Korea would require annual investment of $500 billion.

The Market Outlook: Managing through the Turmoil

Andrew Economos, Head of Sovereign & Institutional Strategy, Asia, from JP Morgan, explained the new fiscal world order. He discussed the roots of the financial problems in Europe and the US, and predicted that emerging markets will continue to grow and buffer the global downturn.

The Evolution & Future of Cleantech

Nicholas Parker and Greg Neichen of the Cleantech Group followed with their expert insight on how unprecedented global challenges have led to innovation. The energetic duo gave examples of ways that  investment into cleantech can contribute not only to the future of the industry, but also to the prosperity of mankind, emphasizing the importance of transforming existing global infrastructures.

Cleantech Investment Strategies & Deal Drivers in Asia

Moderated by Richard Youngman, also from the Cleantech Group, this panel included representatives from Idinvest Partners, Maybank PE, Keytone Ventures, and Tsing Capital, all of which also stressed the importance of infrastructure change. These global investors talked about strategies to leverage opportunities in Asia, and consensus was that by seeking innovative, proven solutions with wide applications, investors can avoid imaginary bubbles in the cleantech space.

Korean LP’s Investment Strategy & Asset Allocation

The last panel that morning was moderated by Jonathan Shieber of Dow Jones. The panelists were esteemed officials from the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), Korea Post Insurance Bureau, and the Korea Finance Corporation (KoFC). During the discussion, Young Joon Kim of the KoFC said 30 percent of its funds are allocated to cleantech as per the national green growth initiative and its “Low-Carbon, Green-Growth” fund will be increasingly allocated to the water sector.

Korea’s Investment Environment & Deal Sourcing Strategies

After a networking luncheon that featured international cuisine, the afternoon session began with a panel led by Sung-il Park of Invest KOREA, who asked local PE and VC firms to share their reasons for investing in Korean companies. Kwan Lee of IMM PE cited the opportunities in the growing financial market, James Kim of EQ Partners mentioned the competitive environment, Ji-Yeong Kang of Samho Green Investment pointed out the outstanding potential of the IT & cleantech sectors, and Jason Lee of L&S VC noted the unparalleled policy support for cleantech investment.

Korea’s Regulatory Environment for Global Financial Investors

This panel was moderated by Alex Yang of Kim & Chang, who was joined by representatives from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the National Tax Service, as well as Joshua Kahn of Hamilton Lane and Keith Gillard of Pangaea Ventures. Kahn observed that Korea’s investment environment has been changing as the nation gains more experience, and Gillard lauded Korea’s unique investment incentive programs.

Strategies for Early & Growth State Cleantech Investing

Greg Neichin from the Cleantech Group returned to moderate this panel and was joined by representatives from SkyLake Incuvest, BP Ventures, Entropy Ventures, and CLSA Capital Partners. Prompted by Neichin, the panelists discussed the difficulties of venture investment; they stressed the need for proof of concept and a solid understanding of the relevant technology as well as the market and methods of capital creation.

Global LP Investment Strategy & Manager Selection

Jonathan Shieber returned to ask the panelists to list reasons for investing in cleantech despite the poor success rate. Global investors from Robeco-SAM PE, HarbourVest, Squadron Capital, Wilshire Private Markets, and Macquarie Funds Group agreed that while the history of cleantech investment has been tumultuous, the sector will be profitable in the future. Wide and thorough diversification, they said, is the key to absorbing losses.

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Speakers and panelists include:

• Scott Kalb – CIO, Korea Investment Corporation
• Andrew Economos – Head of Sovereign & Institutional Strategy Asia, JP Morgan
• Nicholas Parker – Co-founder, Cleantech Group
• Greg Neichin – Vice President, Research & Advisory, Cleantech Group
• Don Ye – Founder, Tsing Capital
• Richard Youngman – Managing Director Europe & Asia, Cleantech Group
• Nicolas Chaudron – Partner, Idinvest
• Nigel Khoo – CEO, Maybank PE
• Eric Tao – Partner & Co-founder, Keytone Ventures
• Dong-ik Lee – Head of Private Markets Group, Korea Investment Corporation
• Jong Yung Jung – CIO, Korea Post Savings Fund
• Young Joon Kim – General Manager, Korea Finance Corporation
• Tim Kang – Managing Director, Samho Green Investment
• Kwan Lee – Senior Managing Director, IMM Private Equity
• Jason Lee – Managing Director, L&S Venture Capital
• James Kim – CEO, EQ Partners
• Dae Young Kwon – Director, Financial Services Commission
• Kyung Suk Jung – Director, National Tax Service
• Joshua Kahn – Director, Hamilton Lane
• KS Lee – Managing Director, Skylake Incuvest
• Vivek Sharma – Associate, BP Ventures
• Sylvia Chan – Managing Director & Co-founder, Entropy Ventures
• Peter Kennedy – Managing Director, CLSA Capital
• Eric ter Braak – Investment Director, Robeco – SAM Private Equity
• Scott Voss – Managing Director, HarbourVest
• Eugene So – Investment Director, Squadron Capital
• Kevin Nee – President, Wilshire Private Markets

The Forum, which is taking place Nov. 2 – 3, 2011 at the Grand InterContinental Hotel, is set to be the largest cleantech investment event ever held in Korea.

See the event post here for more information or contact Ms. Stephanie Lim of Invest KOREA at stephanie@kotra.or.kr or on +82 2 3460 7539.

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