Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) recently said it will launch a USD500 million joint investment platform with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). According to Forbes, each sovereign fund would put in an initial USD250 million to the cross-border investment. The fund is expected to rise to USD 1 billion at some unspecified stage. South Korean Yonhap News reported that the joint investment platform between KIC and RDIF was meant to facilitate trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

But it appeared that the fund will focus on private equity investments in Russia more than  in South Korea, the Forbes article said. Citing the Asian Investor Magazine, Forbes said the investments would most likely focus on regenerating infrastructures in flooded areas in east Russia, which is closest to South Korea. 

According to the article, KIC was founded in July 2005 and started investing in emerging areas in November 2006.   The South Korean sovereign fund launched a direct investment into mainland China just last year.

RDIF was created in 2011, with about USD10 billion in assets. It has also made deals with Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Abu Dhabi's department of finance, Forbes said.