Samsung Securities Co. has joined hands with a foreign pension fund for the first time in the domestic investment banking industry to expand its reach in global infrastructure investment.

The company announced on Sept. 4 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on mutual business partnership with Montreal-based institutional investor Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) at the company’s head office in Quebec, Canada, on Sept. 3 (local time). Founded in 1965, CDPQ is one of world’s largest institutional investors with net assets worth 296 trillion won (CA$326.70 billion or US$24.56 billion) as of June.

The fund managing company invests in financial markets of major countries, private equity funds, infrastructure assets, properties and private equity loans. It has a high level of expertise in each sector. CDPQ, in particular, has increased focus on alternative investment, investing 58 trillion won (CA$64 billion or US$48.13 billion) in infrastructure and real estate alone as of June this year. It has also invested in industrial infrastructure over the past 20 years such as in renewable energy, utility, telecommunications, ports, airports, and highways in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America.

Its major infrastructure assets are the Heathrow Airport in London, the largest international airport in Europe, high-speed underwater passenger train Eurostar, and Australian energy supplier TransGrid. Samsung Securities also successfully bought a stake in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal of Dunkirk, France, in 2018, and this year, it took part in a U.K. railway vehicle lease project and expanded investment in global industrial facilities, such as airports and renewable energy plants in Europe.

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