"Forget Past Achievements"

Mirae Asset holds no ceremony for 10th anniversary to stress future task is more important

Mirae Asset Investment Management Co. observed its 10th anniversary on July 18, but the company did nothing with company employees going about their work as usual.
An executive of the company explained that nothing was done on the important anniversary to remind ourselves that what's done in the past is unimportant, but what's to be done ahead is important as if the company is just starting its business.
As if to show that he was telling truth, Mirae Asset Capital which is like a holding company to Mirae financial affiliates, passed by its 10th anniversary on July 1, without any special activities.
Mirae Asset Investment Consultancy opened on July 18, 1997 and offered the shares of Park Hyeon-joo Fund in the stock market, to create a whirlwind in the indirect investment stock market with more than 100 percent return on each share. The company suffered a set back in 2000 from the bubbles burst in technology shares.
But the company came back with Mirae Asset Independence in 2001, which continue to grow to the extent that shares of funds took up 30.7 percent of the stock market based on July 13 data from 1.2 percent at the end of 2000.
The company has been speeding up its plans to set up branches in strategic locations around the world like Hong Kong, New Delhi, London, and Singapore. The company's operation has not always been smooth as it has some enemies too due to its rapid growth.
With shares of funds totaling over 20 trillion won, it is hard to make reports on shares held by Mirae Asset. Other complaints are that the fund shares do well when stock prices are rising, but suffer immensely when they are falling.
Mirae Asset has introduced Korean fund products to foreign investors for the first time. On July 4, Mirae Asset Investment Management announced that it will export 9 leading funds including the 'Independence Equity Fund'and the 'Discovery Equity Fund'which have produced more than 600 percent in cumulative returns over the last six years. In addition, Mirae Asset has noted that once authorization from the government has been granted, it will begin selling these funds in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore through its respective foreign offices.
These fund products invest in equities in Korea, China and India and are considered as radical financial business models, in which a Korean asset management company for the first time develops offshore funds raising money from foreigners to invest in Asian stock markets.
So far, well-known foreign asset management companies such as Fidelity have been selling offshore funds in Korea. The head of global marketing department, Edward Oh, has been quoted as saying "We will start selling fund products in Hong Kong and expand to other areas. If it is successful, we will increase the number of products to 40.
These fund products will be formed as "mirror funds"that copy the scheme of traditional Korean fund products and will first be established in Luxembourg.
Chairman Park Hyeon-joo of the financial group, said:
Since our 1997 launch, we have become Korea's leading independent financial services group. At May 2007, our diversified businesses recorded USD 76 billion of assets under management.
We achieve our success by building on principles.
First and foremost, we adhere to ethical principles and always put our customer's interests first. Our success comes from their success.
We apply fundamental investment principles - identifying opportunities that generate value and promise stable lasting profits.
We are strong believers in teamwork. As we open new horizons in Asia, and expand our ambitions globally, we are determined to recruit the best and brightest people.
And we are committed to corporate citizenship. nw

Chairman Park Hyeon-joo of Mirae Asset Investment Management Co. Below photo is the head office building of Mirae Asset Life Insurance in Seoul.