Hanwha Asset Management said Friday it planned to raise 510 billion won ($421.7 million) capital from its parent Hanwha Life Insurance, which would bring its total capital to over 700 billion won -- the second-largest for an asset management company in South Korea.

The fresh capital will be used to enhance overseas alternative investment capacity through acquisitions of foreign asset management firms, expand its overseas units, create a digital infrastructure and nurture more investment opportunities, it added.

“We are engaging more deeply in the Asian financial market,” Hanwha Asset CEO Kim Yong-hyun said in a statement. “We would like to show an example of how Korean asset manager goes global.”

The new capital backed by Hanwha Life, in exchange for Hanwha Asset‘s 102 million new common shares, will also contribute to improving Hanwha Life‘s shareholder value, Hanwha Asset added.

The plan was agreed by the board Friday and is awaiting regulatory approval in Korea.

Hanwha Asset is wholly owned by Hanwha Life. It is the nation’s third-largest asset management house, following Mirae Asset Global Invesments and Samsung Asset Management. Hanwha Asset has overseas units in China, Singapore and the United States.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)