Korea Exchange Opened Its First Overseas Branch in Singapore

The Korea Exchange (KRX) announced on September 7 that it opened a branch in Singapore on September 5. It is the first overseas branch of the KRX although the KRX is currently running offices in Beijing and Singapore.

The KRX set up the branch because it reached a conclusion that Singapore is the best place for the attraction of investment in derivatives. Singapore is home to the most developed derivatives market in Asia and has hosted the Futures Industry Association (FIA) Asia Derivatives Conference, the largest derivatives industry event in Asia.

The KRX opened a temporary office in Singapore two years ago in order to advertise the South Korean derivatives market. However, the marketing activities were rather limited due to the local regulations that block such offices from providing anything more than simple data and information. The KRX is expecting that its first overseas branch will overcome the limitations.

“We are planning to launch more marketing activities in the derivatives market and expand to neighboring Asian countries by making use of the Singaporean market, which is the center of the Southeast Asian financial market, once the work of the branch is stabilized to some extent,” the KRX said.