S. Korea's sovereign fund reaps in abundant in 2012

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), South Korea's sovereign wealth fund, saw its investment returns surpass benchmark last year as returns from stocks and bonds investment increased amid the persistent strategy to diversify portfolio from the long-term perspective, the sovereign fund said Monday.

KIC's returns of investment from conventional assets such as stocks and bonds reached 11.83 percent in 2012, topping the benchmark yield of 11.17 percent, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement. The figure was a rebound from a minus 3.32 percent yield tallied in the previous year, and it marked the highest in three years.

The KIC, set up in 2005 to manage part of the country's foreign reserves entrusted by Bank of Korea (BOK) and the finance ministry 's foreign exchange stabilization funds, posted a net asset value (NAV) of 56.6 billion dollars as of 2012, higher than the 50- billion-dollar principal that is composed of 43.8 billion dollars in conventional assets and 6.2 billion dollars in alternatives.

"Despite tough conditions under the U.S. credit crunch and the European fiscal crisis, the KIC has adhered to a principle of long- term, diversification investment since its establishment," said KIC Chief Executive Choi Chong-suk while explaining the reason for its benchmark-surpassing investment return.

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