MONTHLY HIGHLIGHT - DEC 2025 Korea’s Momentum: Innovation, Markets, and Soft Power Align
- SEONWOO LEE
- 13 hours ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
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November’s Pine Partners Day in Bangkok gave us a clear moment to reflect on how Pine has evolved and where we should focus next. What stood out this year was the stronger alignment across our three anchor markets. Singapore remains our base of structure and trust. South Korea is entering a genuine re-rating cycle supported by industrial strength and governance reform. Thailand continues to bring a level of warmth and openness that anchors how we work with families across the region. These three markets now operate as a connected ecosystem for Pine rather than separate geographies.
Looking ahead to 2026, our priorities will center on three areas.
The first is our buyout strategy. We will begin in a focused way, concentrating on Singapore and Malaysia, and specifically on construction, waste management, and industrial services. These sectors combine succession challenges, regulatory pressure, and stable demand, creating clear opportunities for consolidation. Before expanding to other markets, our intention is to build a disciplined model: stronger processes, equipment upgrades, better compliance, and more professional reporting. This will become a stable pillar next to our venture and public markets strategies.
The second priority is the public market in South Korea. For the first time in many years, we see valuations adjusting upward for structural reasons. Global AI adoption is driving semiconductor demand, and South Korea is one of the few countries with meaningful production capacity. Governance reform, digital AGM adoption, and improved accountability are creating a more investable environment. In 2026, we will look selectively at opportunities not only in large-caps but also in small and mid-cap names where governance upgrades, balance sheet cleanup, and better shareholder alignment can unlock significant value. We plan to remain active in IPOs and secondary offerings where we have strong visibility.
The third area of focus is strengthening Pine as an integrated multi-asset platform. Our public equities team has built a data-driven, disciplined process that adjusts exposure intelligently. Our venture portfolio continues to mature, with more companies achieving profitability and regional expansion. Our buyout strategy will add long-term cash-flow and operational depth. Across all platforms, we are upgrading internal systems with better data infrastructure, automated reporting, and AI-enabled monitoring. The aim is straightforward: faster insights, clearer communication, and a more resilient foundation for managing complex portfolios.
Across the discussions in Bangkok, one theme was consistent: Asia is becoming the central hub for global families who want to build long-term presence in the region. Families from the UK, Europe, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore increasingly want coordinated cross-border allocation with a partner who understands local dynamics. Pine’s role is to connect founders, family offices, and next-generation leaders and help them navigate the region with clarity and alignment.
As we enter 2026, our focus will be disciplined execution. Build our buyout capabilities step by step in Singapore and Malaysia. Lean into South Korea’s market recovery with targeted, high-conviction positions. Strengthen Pine’s integrated platform with better data, reporting, and transparency. And continue shaping Pine as a cross-border hub for families who see Asia as their long-term base.
We look forward to gathering again next year for Pine Partners Day in Tokyo or Taipei!
If you’d like to join or receive our materials, please reach out to me directly at ht@pinevp.com.
Hyuk-Tae Kwon
Founder and CEO
Portfolio Spotlight
AIDEN LAB: Building Asia's Cross-Border Commerce Infrastructure
by Investment Manager Joel Kam
The US rental market is experiencing unprecedented growth. Single-family rentals now house 14.2 million households, while multifamily properties added over 550,000 new units in 2024 alone. This expansion creates a mounting challenge: managing countless access points across aging infrastructure. With traditional access control systems averaging $2,500 to $4,300 per door to install, multi-family rental properties with just 50 access points faces over $125,000 in replacement costs, creating a painful dilemma between security needs and capital preservation.
Enter Igloo, a portfolio company we believe is uniquely positioned to capture this market inflection point. Their value proposition is elegantly simple yet powerful; Deliver enterprise-grade access control without the enterprise-grade capital expenditure.
The Software-First Revolution
Multifamily residences present a unique complexity. A single property might feature lobby doors from one manufacturer, garage systems from another, gate controls from a third, plus elevator systems requiring separate management. This fragmentation has historically locked property owners into costly, comprehensive overhauls when seeking unified control.
Igloo's iglooOS flips this paradigm entirely. As a software-first platform, it transforms existing third-party hardware regardless of brand into smart, centrally managed systems. Property managers can suddenly orchestrate gates, garage doors, lobby access, and even elevators through a single interface, all without replacing functioning equipment. The capital efficiency is remarkable: rather than six-figure hardware replacements, properties gain sophisticated access management for a fraction of the cost.
This isn't limited to common entry points. Their technology enables true "smart elevators" where landlords can dynamically control floor access which is crucial for managing amenity spaces, restricting access during events, or enhancing security protocols.
The Offline Advantage
What particularly excites us is Igloo's differentiation in offline functionality. While competitors rely on constant connectivity, iglooOS operates seamlessly without internet connection; a capability protected by defensible IP.
This positions Igloo beyond the obvious rental market opportunity. We envision substantial potential in defense installations, telecommunications facilities, and data centers, where security mandates often conflict with connectivity. These sectors demand robust access control while minimising cybersecurity attack surfaces; exactly where offline capability becomes invaluable.
The Journey Ahead
When we first invested, Igloo was a Singapore-based digital lock company. Today, they're pivoting their focus towards becoming a technology platform with the US as their primary market, serving a sector ripe for disruption. Their evolution from hardware to the iglooOS platform represents the kind of innovation trajectory we seek in portfolio companies.
The rental market's structural growth isn't slowing, and the capital-efficient infrastructure solutions will win. We're proud to support Igloo's mission and excited about the expanding applications ahead.
December 2025 - Knocked down, not knocked out
by Investment Director Larry Lau
This month’s note is an abridged version of our 24 November client memo, written in response to the spike in market volatility.
Uncertainty around economic data, Fed policy and stretched valuations drove volatility sharply higher. Mechanical flows from quant de-grossing and dealer hedging amplified the move, driving VIX to its high of 28.27 on 20 November.
Amid the noise, our message is simple: economic and corporate fundamentals remain sound into Q1 2026. We expect this bout of volatility to fade and for markets to trend higher as investors refocus on data rather than fears. We explain more in detail below.
Major S&P 500 drawdowns have historically coincided with negative or near-zero U.S. real GDP growth. During the 2000–02 bear market, the S&P 500 fell ~51% peak-to-trough as real GDP slowed from +5.2% YoY (Q2 ’00) to +0.17% YoY (Q4 ’01). The latest official print (Q2 ’25) shows +2.1% YoY growth and consensus estimates for CY2026 is +1.8% YoY. We broadly concur, with the nuance that we expect growth to decelerate from Q2 ’26, which could pivot us towards a more cautious allocation then. Again, we prefer to anticipate and react rather than rely on forecasts. Simply put, today’s macro backdrop is not consistent with the usual preconditions of a deep bear market.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% in September (from 4.3%), the highest since 2021, prompting claims that the labour market is “rolling over”. Let’s differentiate signal from noise — the Sahm Rule is currently 0.23 percentage points (pp), elevated versus the lows, but below the 0.50 pp trigger. No single indicator is perfect, so we prefer to pair the Sahm Rule with non-farm payrolls and initial claims as confirmation. Together, they do not yet point to an imminent recession.
Private-sector indicators help fill gaps while official data are delayed. ADP payrolls rebounded to +42k in October after two negative months (-3k in Aug & -29k in Sep), with ADP’s chief economist noting that labour supply and demand look “balanced”. S&P US PMIs for November show resilience, with Composite PMI (54.8) and Services PMI (55.0) both hitting 4-month highs. Manufacturing PMI hit a 2-month low (53.6) but remains in expansion (i.e. >50). PMI employment components suggest slowing, not contracting, labour demand. Overall, the data suggest that U.S. economic activity remains robust.
We would be remiss not to remind investors that valuations are not a timing tool. Without an actual recession or very low economic growth, "expensive" can simply get "more expensive”. Several high-profile investors/strategists called for an equity bubble in early 2024, only for the S&P 500 to rally over 25% since then (even after the latest pullback). We use high valuations not as a sell signal, but to gauge the magnitude of potential drawdowns if the cycle turns.
Our base case remains growth re-accelerating into Q1 ‘26 with inflation (YoY %) easing from January 2026. That backdrop supports a favourable outlook for equities into Q1 ‘26. We expect this drawdown to be shallower and the recovery quicker than April’s, as recession risks have not risen materially. Performance should recover as volatility subsides and investors refocus on fundamentals.
Thank you for your continued trust and support. We wish you and your family a safe and restful holiday season.
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