The sale process on the International Financial Centre Seoul (IFC Seoul) building compound that towers over the financial district of Yeouido in Seoul has kicked off. The IFC Seoul was erected by Seoul City together with multinational insurance firm American International Group, Inc. (AIG) in a bid to create a financial hub in Seoul.

According to investment bank industry sources on Monday, AIG Korea Real Estate Development (AIG KRE) and sale advisor Eastdil Secured LLC have begun reviewing the preliminary bids for the compound comprised of three IFC office buildings, shopping mall, and Conrad Hotel Seoul. A number of institutional investors from home and abroad including multinational investment firm Blackstone Group L.P and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd are reported to have submitted bids. Korea’s state-run National Pension Service (NPS) that mulled participation did not take part.

The local real estate industry forecast that the IFC Seoul compound could fetch up to 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion).

AIG appointed Eastdil Secured, a subsidiary of American multinational financial service provider Wells Fargo &Co., as its lead advisor for the deal, and had received offers from institutional investors across the world until Monday.

IFC Seoul with a total project amount of 1.5 trillion won was constructed in 2012 after ground-breaking in December 2006. The building complex opened up in a series starting with the first IFC office tower in November 2011 and then two other office buildings, Conrad Seoul Hotel and IFC shopping mall on a site bigger than Lotte World Mall, until-then the largest shopping complex in Korea covering a land area of 428,934 square meters. Since then it served as a landmark of Yeouido. A major hurdle for its sale could be rising vacancy rate in one of three office buildings that has now reached 70 percent.

By Song Gwang-sup

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