Offshore Trading
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced on July 11 that Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the FSC, had a meeting with Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez to discuss the inclusion of the Korea Exchange in the MSCI developed market index.
Yim met with Fernandez at the Government Complex Seoul on the previous day and expressed how sorry he is about South Korea’s failure to place on MSCI's review list for the developed market index last month.
During the meeting, Yim said, “The size of South Korea’s economy and capital market is already at the level of advanced countries and many global investors, including other global index providers, and international organizations consider South Korea a developed country.”
He also briefed Fernandez about South Korea's efforts to improve foreign investors' convenience and the nation's capital markets. Then, Yim asked Fernandez to "review more realistically" South Korea's push for the inclusion of its stock markets on the MSCI developed market index considering the nation’s economic fundamentals and market conditions.
Fernandez said, “We are well aware of and think highly of the fact that South Korean financial authorities have made every effort to improve market efficiency and foreign investors' convenience.”
He also added that South Korea meets the requirement of the MSCI developed market index in terms of the size of economy and maturity of the capital market but global fund operators complain that South Korea should allow offshore won trading, making the remarks about the needs for improvement, according to the FSC.