A local equity fund, in which South Korean President Moon Jae-in invested last week to show his confidence in domestic firms likely to benefit from Japan’s export curbs, has amassed more than 40 billion won ($33 million) as of Friday, fund operator NH-Amundi Asset Management said Sunday.

The fund dubbed the “NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund,” was launched on Aug. 14 with about 30 billion won initial capital. It invests in local companies that manufacture industrial equipment, components and materials that are expected to replace imports from Japan.
 

It didn’t attract the interest of investors in the first week after its launch, but started to raise investment quickly after Moon invested an unspecified amount last week.

For five days after the news of his investment, the fund raised an average of 2.2 billion won a day.

“The subscription for the Victorious Korea Equity Fund has surpassed 40 billion won as of Friday,” Lee Jin-young, a spokesperson for NH-Amundi told The Korea Herald.

“There was a noticeable increase in subscriptions after it was reported that President Moon had invested,” he added.

Several lawmakers and government officials, including Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, have joined Moon in making investments.

The fund invests in a total 60 listed firms including household names such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and LG Chem. Of them, 27 are materials, parts and equipment-related companies.

The fund’s rate of return stood at 0.21 percent as of Friday.

NH-Amundi has set the management fee at 0.5 percent, which is slightly lower than the norm of 0.7-0.8 percent for public equity funds here. It also plans to donate part of the management fees to research centers and institutions.

The news comes as South Korea unveiled and implemented a set of contingency plans to minimize the threat of Japan’s export curbs.

South Korean Presidents have invested in local funds to support their economic agendas in the past.

Former President Lee Myung-bak invested in accumulated funds in December 2008, in a bid to counter damages stemming from the financial crisis.

President Roh Moo-hyun invested 80 million won in eight different funds in July 2005.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)