Shinhan Venture Investment is teaming up with Japan's SBI Group to jointly nurture Korean and Japanese startups and expand cross-border investment.

Shinhan Venture Investment said on June 23 it signed a business agreement on June 22 at its headquarters in Samsung-dong, Seoul, with Japan's SBI Group to build a Korea-Japan investment partnership.

Under the agreement, the companies plan to cooperate on cross-border investment, identifying joint investment opportunities, supporting entry into global markets, business linkages, reviewing the creation of jointly managed funds and sharing information using investor networks.

Shinhan Venture Investment plans to expand investment and business linkages between Korean and Japanese startups. It also plans to strengthen the foundation for startups in both countries to expand globally by using the networks of Shinhan Financial Group and SBI Group.

Takashi Goto (고토 다케시), vice president of SBI Group's investment division, emphasised support for innovative startups to grow into global unicorns by combining the two companies' networks and investment capabilities.

Park Sun-bae (박선배), CEO of Shinhan Venture Investment, said the deal would be an opportunity to maximise synergy between the two countries' venture ecosystems. He also said it would serve as a strong bridgehead to help domestic founders enter global markets.