KB Kookmin Bank secured a mandate on 1 November to lead a 10.7 trillion won syndicated loan for a Brookfield-backed project supplying Naver Cloud, an arrangement the bank called South Korea’s first GPU financing and its largest syndicated loan, The Korea Herald reported. The bank will structure the financing for the AI computing infrastructure project and negotiate its main terms.
Key points
- KB Kookmin Bank will arrange a 10.7 trillion won loan to finance AI computing equipment and infrastructure.
- The Korea Herald values the project at about 13 trillion won; The Korea Times puts it at 12.6 trillion won.
- Brookfield’s planned asset company will supply computing capacity to Naver Cloud under a long-term agreement.
- Naver has guaranteed Naver Cloud’s project payments, with a nominal cap of 18.74 trillion won. The guarantee does not cover the loan itself.
KB Kookmin’s 10.7 trillion won mandate
The Korea Herald valued the project at about 13 trillion won. The Korea Times put its cost at 12.6 trillion won, with roughly 10.7 trillion won to be raised through loans. Under the syndicated structure, multiple financial institutions will provide the borrowing, while KB Kookmin coordinates the financing and its terms.
Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and NH Investment & Securities are reportedly participating, according to The Korea Times. KB Kookmin said domestic banks and securities firms were taking part. The bank described the transaction as the country’s largest syndicated loan arrangement, a ranking The Korea Times also reported.
Unlike project financing centred on property or power plants, this structure uses anticipated revenue from the supply of AI computing capacity to support the upfront investment, The Korea Times reported. Seoul Economic Daily reported that lenders are financing the project against revenue from its long-term supply contract. Loan proceeds will fund GPUs and related infrastructure.
Brookfield’s asset company and Naver’s guarantee
Brookfield, a Canadian alternative asset manager, plans to establish a special purpose company to acquire GPUs and other computing assets. That company, tentatively called Asset Co., will supply capacity under a long-term agreement to Naver Cloud, Naver’s cloud computing arm. Naver Cloud will operate the AI facility and sell computing services to customers.
Naver has guaranteed Naver Cloud’s payment obligations under the project contracts. The nominal cap is 18.74 trillion won if the full $9 billion infrastructure investment limit is used. The guarantee backs those project payments, rather than the syndicated loan. Naver has said usage fees will be linked to revenue from the computing business to reduce its upfront investment burden.
Lenders are expected to weigh Naver Cloud’s ability to meet long-term service fees alongside uncertainty over what GPUs could fetch if sold, The Korea Herald wrote, citing prior coverage. Asset Co. will own the equipment and infrastructure, and the contracted fees will provide revenue for that business.
GAK Sejong and Naver’s capacity targets
The financing follows Naver’s $9 billion infrastructure agreement with Brookfield, signed on 27 October. The agreement met a prerequisite for Nvidia’s planned $1 billion strategic investment in Naver. AI Affairs has also reported that Naver set 6 November for the investment payment.
The project will centre on GAK Sejong, Naver’s hyperscale data centre. Naver has said the expanded facility is expected to house about 100,000 Nvidia GPUs. Its targets in a 27 October filing are tentative: capacity is planned to reach 55 megawatts in the first half of 2027 and 100 megawatts by the end of that year. Naver targets 200 megawatts in 2028.
