[THE INVESTOR] Central banks of 11 Asia-Pacific nations will invest in bonds denominated in the currencies of concerned nations, Bank of Korea announced on July 1. According to SouthKorea’s central bank, the 11 central banks included in the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP) agreed to invest in local currency bonds. Members of EMEAP include the central banks of South Korea, Australia, China and Japan.Until now, the EMEAP’s Asia Bond Fund invested in dollar-denominated

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s benchmark interest rate could be slashed to below 1 percent this year due to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, Nomura Financial Investment said on July 1. Kwon Young-sun, an economist at the firm said that the Bank of Korea is likely to cut the key rate by 25 basis points twice within 2016 to 0.75 percent from current 1.25 percent. On June 9, the BOK took its key seven-day repo rate to 1.25 percent from a previous level of 1.5 percent, the first cut in 12 mon

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s national pension fund said on July 1 it will adopt a defensive strategy for alternative investments into European markets to protect against potential shocks from the post-Brexit turmoil. The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund with 520 trillion won (US$450 billion) in assets, said it will keep a close eye on market conditions after Britain’s decision to leave the EU in order to achieve the 5 percent goal of the annual rate of return this year.