J. Christopher Flowers, chief executive officer of the world’s established private equity investment company J.C. Flowers & Co. said it was a good time to invest in Korea in terms of “price” benefit in investment.

The “not optimistic” view on Korea’s economy is “good because that gives more opportunity and also better price,” said Flowers in an exclusive interview with Maeil Business Newspaper recently held in Seoul, Korea.

“The regulatory climate in Korea is pretty attractive, and you have entrepreneurial, hardworking, striving culture here, which is attractive,” he added. It is the first time ever for Flowers, the head of international investment firm that handles $15 billion with an investment focus in the financial services industry, to have an interview with a Korean newspaper.

During his visit to Korea, Flowers checked on the management performance of Doosan Capital Co. and KT Capital Corp. his company took over last year, and exchanged views on expanding investment in Korea with local pension funds.

Flowers is well-known for having advised Bank of America in buying out debt-ridden Merrill Lynch, which was also the world’s most widely renowned brokerage, in a $50 billion deal during the global financial crisis in 2008. Through this acquisition deal, Bank of America became an international financial tycoon overseeing not only consumer banking service but investment banking and asset management sectors as well. Flowers’ achievement in the deal as a mergers and acquisitions specialist in the private financial sector negotiating with the U.S. government and state-led financial institutions has been portrayed in the film “Too Big to Fail.”

In addition to leading a multinational private equity firm as CEO, Flowers also serves as a board member at Shinsei Bank Ltd. in Japan and NIBC Bank N.V. in the Netherlands. J.C. Flowers & Co. set its foot into Korea by acquiring KT Capital in August and Doosan Capital in October last year, and it is currently in negotiation to buy out HK Savings Bank Co. in Korea.

“I find that Koreans are very harsh judges of their own country,” CEO Flowers said but he appraised the country and its financial market positively. Although Korea has been experiencing a slowdown, he expects the country to be better than many parts of Europe and Japan. The Korean financial market appears to be charming considering its low price-earnings ratio and price-to-book ratio as he seeks values when it comes to investment.

“Often times, troubled times are the best times,” CEO Flowers said as he shared his plan of searching for more investment opportunities in Korea. Although he refrained himself from naming specific companies, Flowers conveyed the possibility of making investments across all financial markets in Korea including insurance, securities, credit card and banking service companies in addition to capital and savings firms that J.C. Flowers & Co. already have stakes in.

“We look at a quite a broad range of companies,” said Flowers as he mentioned that all possible aspects including “circumstances, price, management and franchise” are considered when the private equity investment firm determines if the asset is “the right investment opportunity.”

Moreover, Flowers underscored that the private equity firm is a “long term” investor. The private equity firm has injected about 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in Japan-based Shinsei Bank since it kicked off with investment transaction 16 years ago.

Regarding the fintech industry, Flowers stressed there are “so much hype” in the fintech sector in the U.S., and advised to make strategic moves as he said “not everyone’s dream can be fulfilled when so many people are chasing the same dream.” And if one was to make an investment in fintech market, he advised “payment area has more potential than lending area.” He also hinted on making additional investment in Korea but only when the asset provides investment condition of being “good and not too expensive” at the same time.

By Bae Mi-jung

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]