SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea has introduced new measures to boost currency trading during extended market hours, after a year of market reforms to open up the onshore foreign exchange market, its finance ministry said on Friday.
The Asian nation has for years been trying to win an upgrade to developed market status from global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), which has cited currency market accessibility as the main factor in hindering foreign investment.
The government plans to set up a task force on getting the developed market status, the country’s vice finance minister said this week, after MSCI said last month in its annual review that it would continue to monitor market accessibility in South Korea.
The new measures include imposing an annual average transaction requirement of $100 million on registered foreign institutions (RFI) and extending an exemption on reporting requirements by an additional six months to the end of this year. The $100 million requirement will be reviewed every three years.
The ministry also said it would continue efforts to make foreign exchange transactions easier for foreign investors and domestic customers and allow algorithm trading for domestic financial institutions during short-staffed, night-time hours.
Marking the first anniversary of extended trading hours from the previous to 2 a.m. local time to cover London trading hours, the ministry selected five institutions as leading RFIs with rewards for active market participation.
The five firms are: Deutsche Bank’s London Branch, KEB Hana Bank’s London Branch, Standard Chartered Bank’s London Head Office and State Street Bank and Trust Company’s Hong Kong and London Branches.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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