[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho chaired an investor relations (IR) session explaining the Korean economy to overseas investment institutions at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF, Davos Forum). It is unusual for the Deputy Prime Minister to attend the Davos Forum, and it is not common to have one-on-one Q&A sessions with a dozen investment banking (IB) experts.
Last October in New York, Deputy Prime Minister Choo held a similar IR session, engaging in a heated debate for an hour and a half with senior officials from global IBs and asset management firms. At that time, he shared his thoughts, saying, "I broke a sweat from sharp questions, but it was a very good experience, and I plan to conduct IR sessions personally whenever the opportunity arises."
On the 19th (local time), the second IR session since his inauguration, the "Davos IR," was attended by about ten European and Middle Eastern investors who registered through the Davos Forum webpage. Deputy Prime Minister Choo informed them of the government's efforts to create an investment-friendly environment by abolishing the foreign stock investor registration requirement, extending foreign exchange market opening hours, significantly reducing regulatory burdens on foreign exchange transactions through the new Foreign Exchange Act, and promoting the swift inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI).
When asked about the prospects for cooperative projects between Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following the Korea-UAE summit, he responded, "We will ensure that concrete results can be visualized early through consultations not only with the government but also with private and public institutions." Regarding concerns about low birth rates and aging, he requested global insurance companies to expand their products and investments in Korea tailored to aging conditions. On the foreign exchange market situation, he assessed that "the won-dollar exchange rate has recently shown a stable trend."
After about an hour of IR, Deputy Prime Minister Choo held a bilateral meeting with Lieve Mostrey, CEO of Euroclear Group, in Davos and explained Korea's plan to be included in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI). He said, "Once included in the WGBI, a significant inflow of foreign government bond investment funds is expected," and requested the group's attention and support to promptly start operating an integrated government bond account ahead of the WGBI inclusion. CEO Lieve Mostrey responded, "The entire group plans to prioritize efforts to enable global investors to access the Korean market easily and quickly through Euroclear."
Our government is working to schedule Korea's government bonds to be included in the WGBI as early as March or by the September review at the latest. The Korea Institute of Finance and others estimate that foreign government bond investment funds will flow in the range of 50 to 60 trillion won upon Korea's inclusion in the WGBI.
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