BNK Financial to launch 50 billion won fund targeting key southeastern industries

BNK Financial Group announced Wednesday it will establish the "BNK Productive Finance Strategy Fund," a 50 billion won ($32.3 million) vehicle aimed at expanding productive finance for strategic industries in the southeastern region. The fund is expected to accelerate the creation of a virtuous financial ecosystem that reinvests local capital into local industries.

The fund was created in line with Chairman Bin Dae-in's second-term management direction, with the goal of building an industrial finance ecosystem in the southeastern region and nurturing innovative local companies. BNK Busan Bank, BNK Kyongnam Bank, BNK Capital and BNK Venture Investment jointly contributed 100 percent of the capital, and the fund will operate as a group-wide investment platform.

BNK Venture Investment will manage the fund, which will target innovative companies with strong technology and growth potential in the region's strategic industries — including shipbuilding and marine, aerospace, energy and chemicals, and defense and mobility. BNK Financial plans to support efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the region's core industries and secure future growth engines.

The fund's first investment sector has been designated as the maritime industry. BNK Financial said it will prioritize investment in promising companies with growth potential and innovation in the southeastern region's marine and fisheries sectors, with the aim of boosting the competitiveness of the local maritime industry and expanding on successful cases of productive finance.

BNK Venture Investment, the fund's manager, has grown into a regionally focused investment firm since its founding in 2019. As of the end of last year, it had invested a total of 111.8 billion won across 47 companies in the Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang region, building a track record centered on the southeastern region's key industries.