Korea is seeking to get its main stock market back on the global index provider MSCI's review list of developed market index candidates next month, government officials said Monday.
From 2008 and 2014, Korea advanced to the review list stage each year but failed to obtain development market status. The failures were due to the country's inability to satisfy a series of requirements made by the MSCI.
The MSCI has long cited Korea's identification-related regulations for foreign investors as a major hurdle for it to be included in the top index group.
To help remove inconveniences for offshore investors in the ID system, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has decided to introduce the omnibus account system starting this month. The system is regarded as an efficient way to gather customer trading activities into a single account, which helps offshore investors cut costs.
Moreover, the FSC said it is considering extending the trading hours of the stock and foreign-exchange markets by 30 minutes. The stock and foreign-exchange markets currently open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 3:00 p.m. It also seeks to open a won-yuan exchange market in Shanghai to promote conveniences for offshore traders.
The MSCI has asked Korea to open a market where foreigners can exchange the won for other currencies or vice versa around the clock. But the government has balked at the request as the 24-hour exchange market could increase volatility of the Korean currency.
As Seoul has introduced the omnibus account structure and is considering extending the stock and currency trading hours by 30 minutes, Korea has a bigger chance to get on the review list this year than last year, analysts said.
The MSCI will announce its review results of development market index candidates on June 15. It categorizes 78 countries into three benchmark indices -- developed, emerging and frontier markets.
Korea has been on the list of emerging market indices since 2009. (Yonhap)
