Korea Securities Depository Hosts the 24th Asia-Pacific Regional Depository Companies General Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The Korea Securities Depository announced on the 9th that it held the 24th Asia-Pacific Regional Central Securities Depositories (CSD) General Meeting over four days starting from the 7th at the Paradise Hotel in Busan. This general meeting is one of the five regional CSD associations within the World Federation of Central Securities Depositories (WFC).

Group Photo of Participants at the 24th ACG General Assembly

This meeting focused on the financial industry navigating through a sea of uncertainty, discussing challenges and ways to overcome them amid high uncertainty in the global economy and financial markets.

The meeting was attended by ACG chairpersons, members from 21 institutions across 19 ACG member countries, and key figures including the WFC chairperson. This was the first meeting held in three years since the 2019 meeting in Nepal.

At the welcoming reception held on the first day, Lee Myung-hwa, President of the Korea Securities Depository, delivered a welcome address, followed by congratulatory speeches from the ACG chairperson and Yoo Myung-soon, President of Citibank Korea. President Lee said, “As this is the first meeting in three years due to COVID-19, I hope it becomes a platform for knowledge sharing among participating institutions.”

On the second day, the program began with a keynote speech by the WFC chairperson, followed by panel discussions on two themes: unprecedented challenges and creative responses, and the pursuit of future-oriented innovation. After the panel discussions, a joint dinner was held at the Nurimaru APEC House in Haeundae with participants of the Korea-Asia Financial Cooperation Forum held on the same day.

A special program, the Korea-Asia Financial Cooperation Forum, was held concurrently. It aimed to support the bid for the 2030 Busan Expo and featured four presentation sessions under the theme of “financial cooperation.”

On the third day, six subcommittee meetings under the Executive Committee began, followed by a high-level ACG meeting to discuss key issues before the plenary session. As the chair institution of the New Business Promotion Subcommittee, the Korea Securities Depository presented on new businesses such as the “risk-free benchmark interest rate” and “VentureNet.” After the high-level meeting for pre-deliberation of plenary session resolutions, the plenary session shared key issues discussed in the subcommittee meetings and planned to vote on major agenda items.

On the final day, a tour program of major tourist attractions was provided for attendees to reinforce the image of Busan as the optimal host city with the capacity to hold the 2030 Expo.

The Korea Securities Depository expects that by hosting this meeting, it will become the institution with the most hosted meetings and strengthen its role as an advanced central securities depository (CSD). The Depository stated, “Building on the successful hosting of this meeting, we plan to pursue hosting the World Federation of Central Securities Depositories. We will support Busan in gaining an advantage over Riyadh and Rome in the competition to host the Expo, helping it succeed as an international hub.”