A New Player in Domestic Derivatives Market
R.J. O'Brien & Associates LLC, the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage firm in the United States, is pushing into the South Korean derivatives trading market.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said on July 11 that it approved a preliminary investment banking license plan from R.J. O'Brien Seoul at a regular meeting on July 10.
The company applied for a preliminary license for trading of exchange-traded derivatives in April this year. When it receives final approval following the preliminary one, it can trade exchange-traded derivates products, such as futures and options, in South Korea. In this case, R.J. O'Brien will become the second foreign futures firm to enter the South Korean derivatives market, following Singapore’s UOB Bullion & Futures Ltd. in February last year.
R.J. O'Brien Ltd. is a futures brokerage company which started business in London in 1984. It is operating in London, Beijing, Hong Kong, Dubai and Toronto in the global market. The company posted a profit of 150 billion won (US$127.77 million) last year. Its holding firm is R.J. O'Brien which has been brokering grain futures mainly in Chicago since 1914.