As reported in the UK Financial Times, South Korea’s National Pension Service, the world’s fifth-largest pension fund, plans to take a 12 per cent stake in Gatwick airport next week, stressing that investment in Britain will play a significant role in quadrupling its international exposure.
The NPS, which is aiming to expand its overall portfolio from $240bn (£150bn) to $400bn by 2014, bought the headquarters of HSBC in Canary Wharf for £773m in cash. The fund is looking to increase its exposure to Britain from the current level of 1.3 per cent. “Some infrastructure-related investment ahead of the London Olympics in 2012 could be very interesting and that could generate some momentum,” said the comany’s chairman, Jun Kwang-woo. Gatwick airport was sold late last year to Global Infrastructure Partners, an infrastructure fund backed by Credit Suisse and General Electric, for £1.51bn.
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