KSD Selects 5 Foreign Companies Including Citi Bank for Busan International Financial Center Tenants

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Korea Securities Depository announced on the 9th that the global financial institution Citibank has been selected as a tenant of the Busan International Financial Center (D-Space BIFC). This is the result of ongoing efforts to improve services for the rapidly increasing foreign currency securities investments and to support the development of Busan as a financial hub.

On the same day, Busan Metropolitan City finalized and announced the selection of six institutions, including Citibank and five foreign companies from Hong Kong, Israel, and others, as tenants on the 63rd floor of the Busan International Financial Center.

The Korea Securities Depository has been promoting the attraction of foreign custodians to the Busan International Financial Center to provide more stable and efficient foreign currency securities deposit and settlement services, in response to the significant increase in foreign currency securities investments by domestic investors.

The foreign financial institutions appointed by the Korea Securities Depository to custody and manage foreign currency securities invested in by domestic residents abroad include Citibank, HSBC, Euroclear, and Clearstream.

The Korea Securities Depository provides foreign currency securities investment support services for domestic residents targeting 40 markets worldwide through these foreign custodians. Citibank, appointed as a foreign custodian to hold foreign currency securities such as U.S. stocks, plans to support the Korea Securities Depository’s global business including foreign currency securities deposit and settlement through the opening of its Busan office early next year.

Since relocating its headquarters to Busan in 2014, the Korea Securities Depository has been striving to foster Busan as a financial hub and revitalize the financial industry by opening the Busan Securities Museum, attracting international capital market events to Busan, and participating in the establishment of the Busan International Financial Promotion Agency. This time as well, it provided part of the 63rd floor of the Busan International Financial Center as office space for foreign companies and supported the attraction of foreign financial institutions to Busan.

President Lee Myung-ho said, "We welcome Citibank, a foreign custodian, being selected as a tenant of the Busan International Financial Center, and we hope this will contribute to providing stable foreign currency securities deposit and settlement services and to attracting other foreign financial institutions to Busan."