Chairman Park Hyun-joo of Mirae Asset Securities. (Photos: Mirae Asset Securities)

Park Hyeon-joo, the founding global investment strategy officer (GISO) of Mirae Asset Financial Group, is stepping on the gas to invest into global innovative companies.

Mirae Asset Securities had already made prior investments in the Chinse vehicle-for-hire company Didi Chuxing, and the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery service, Grab.

The Korean securities company then made a brave investment in Impossible Foods, a promising U.S.-based venture that produces meat alternatives.

Investment banking business sources said Mirae Asset GISO Park’s brave investments, like Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son’s, may be construed as his bid to accelerate investments in future innovative companies.

An image of packaged alternative meat items, produced by Impossible Foods.

Mirae Asset Financial Group invested about 180 billion won into Impossible Foods as of August 2020.

Mirae Asset saw the value of its stake in the U.S. company stand at 400 billion won, more than double, on the back of the rising value of Impossible Food. Mirae Asset poured 15 billion won into Impossible Foods in the “G” funding round.

Mirae Asset’s three-way allocation capital increase investment in the “H” round is forecast to be the last pre-IPO investment before Impossible Foods is set to go public.

If Impossible Foods is listed on the Nasdaq, its corporate value is predicted to stand at $10 billion (11 trillion won). If Impossible Foods’ corporate value rises on expectations, Mirae Asset Financial Group is expected to earn at least twice its investments in two years.

Mirae Asset’s investments in Impossible Foods corresponds to the ESG management perspective. Breeding cattle causes large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and requires lots of land and water.

It is expected to have an effect of contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and consumers’ health by investing into alternative meat.

Investment baking business sources said that, even though Mirae Asset Chairman Park has so far raised funds to make big investments into hotels and conventions, he is expected to expand investments into venture companies.

Chairman Park is known to solicit aggressive investments into companies with growth potential without respect to Korea and abroad.

Mirae Asset Securities, Mirae Asset Management and Mirae Asset Venture Investment are focusing on expanding investments into foreign venture companies. T

hey tend to turn to direct aggressive investments rather than raising funds and stake acquisition investments.

In an interview with a vernacular economic daily, Chairman Park hinted at expanding global investments. He was quoted as saying that Mirae Asset has received offers on negotiating between 300 and 400 deals annually, but it has looked into most foreign offers, not Korean ones.

“We’re feeling like approaching the expressway tollgate, and if we pass by it, our driving speed will be accelerated,” he said.

Mirae Asset Financial Group is expected to reap twice or three times in returns from investments into Didi Chuxing and Grab. Mirae Asset invested about $25 million and $150 million into Didi Chuxing and Grab, respectively, in 2018.

Starting 2019, Mirae has been making massive investments with a focus on online platform companies in Southeast Asia.

Mirae Asset poured $50 million into Bukalapak, Indonesia’s e-commerce platform company, $60 million into India’s Bigbasket, India’s on-line grocery shopping and supermarket, and $10 million into Singapore’s hotel reservation platform company RedDoorz.

Mirae Asset also invested $30 million into Vietnam’s leading digital entertainment company, Pops Worldwide.