SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) - South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) said on Thursday it has secured full occupancy ahead of completion in its first overseas office development investment.
The NPS said two office towers at Toronto’s CIBC Square complex reached 100 percent leasing about four months before completion, with major tenants including Canadian lender CIBC and technology giant Microsoft.
The pension fund invested in the project in two rounds in 2016 and 2018. Total project costs amount to about 2.5 trillion won ($1.7 billion), with a combined gross floor area of roughly 285,000 square meters.
CIBC Square Tower 1 was completed in 2021, and the NPS has since recovered most of its principal investment through refinancing. Tower 2 is scheduled for completion in June 2026 but has already achieved full occupancy.
Following the Toronto investment, the NPS went on to complete several high-profile overseas office developments, including One Vanderbilt and One Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Domestically, it also completed Magok One Grove, described as South Korea’s largest office development project, last year.
Seo Won-ju, head of investment management at the NPS, said the outcome reflected years of market analysis and early investment decisions in Canada, then a relatively new market for the fund.
NPS Chairman Kim Seong-ju described the early leasing success as “a meaningful investment case” for securing stable long-term returns.
“We will continue to pursue timely investments in high-quality overseas assets to enhance fund performance,” Kim said in a press release.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.