By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter



Finance-Economy Minister Han Duck-soo, right, speaks at a meeting to discuss measures to make the nation a financial hub of Northeast Asia at the Kwachon Government Complex, Wednesday.


The government will set up guidelines to make it easier for Korean financial institutions to participate in merger deals and investment projects in Northeast Asia to help transform the country into a regional financial hub.
Toward that goal, it will overhaul financial regulations and related laws.

The plan is included in the grandiose vision of the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE)’s financial hub promotion committee laid out Wednesday.

The ministry said the task force will support the financial hub project by resolving the problems of foreign businesses here. The ministry plans to hold a meeting with foreign institutions operating here to listen to their problems.

Finance-Economy Minister Han Duck-soo will chair the committee, which will consist of 29 chief policymakers and financiers, including economy-related ministers, vice ministers and heads of private financial institutions.

The government’s financial hub plan is response to growing calls from both local and foreign experts to deregulate the financial market.

The ministry plans to hold an international seminar by inviting CEOs of global financial institutions to attract global interests to the Korea Investment Corp., the state-run investment agency.

In addition, the ministry has decided to push for the establishment of the so-called Northeast Asian Development Bank to enhance the regional economic cooperation.

Earlier this year, Han said that it is time to consider forming the Northeast Asian Development Bank with capital of $20-$30 billion to prepare for the opening of North Korea.

The task force will speed up the government’s plan to establish a ``financial hub law’’ to spur investment by foreign financiers into the local market and the advance of Korean firms into international markets.

The government will open its accounting market to foreign companies in 2007. It will step up efforts to nurture the local asset management business and open its stock market on a step-by-step basis

``If we focus on improving our competitiveness in our strong fields such as asset management, bonds and other derivative markets, it will result in development in other areas like foreign exchange market in the process, a ministry official said.

During the first half of next year, the ministry said, it will enact a law intended to facilitate the government efforts to make the nation a financial hub, while launching a task force committed to providing a one-stop service for foreign financial companies.

The ministry also plans to stimulate the market for Arirang bonds, won-denominated bonds issued here by foreign firms, by loosening unnecessary regulations.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr