DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh speaks during an opening ceremony of Hi Asset Management Asia in Singapore on Tuesday. (DGB Financial Group)

DGB Financial Group said Wednesday it launched its first overseas subsidiary Hi Asset Management Asia, an asset management arm, in Singapore.

DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh, Korean Ambassador to Singapore Hong Jin-wook as well as financial firm officials from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Keppel Group were in attendance at the opening ceremony held on Tuesday.

“We will spare no effort in helping HiAMA serve as a global headquarters for key financial players and groups in Singapore, a global financial hub,” the chairman said.

Hi Asset Management Asia, also called HiAMA, will be headed by CEO Choi Young-wook, a former hedge fund manager who led Midas Asset Management’s Singapore office.

Under the leadership of Choi, HiAMA plans to launch an Asian fund on Friday with asset managers and infrastructure operationally ready.

After the first fund launch, the asset management firm plans to expand its business by raising funds using its network in Korea and elsewhere. The group said it will leverage HiAMA to broaden its business to services tied to merger and acquisition and loan fund programs in the global market