KIC Reviews Foreign Exchange Market and Discusses Investment Outlook in New York

Korean Financial Experts and Local Investment Specialists Attend
High Volatility Expected Due to Weak Dollar and Undervalued Yen

The sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) held a meeting in New York with Korean financial professionals and local investment experts to review the foreign exchange market and discuss future investment prospects.

On the 29th (local time), KIC hosted the 13th 'New York Korean Finance Forum' at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York. The forum was attended by more than 20 investment officials from the New York Consulate's Economic Section, government, public investment institutions, securities firms, banks, and insurance companies.

At the forum, Robert Savage, Head of Market Strategy at Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), stated, "Although there are still many dollar long positions in the current market, the shift of focus from inflation to growth may cause the dollar to weaken in the short term." He also added that the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidential election in November could increase market volatility and potentially lead to an unexpected dollar depreciation.

Regarding the yen, Savage said, "It is undervalued from a fundamental perspective, so a yen appreciation is expected in the future," while emphasizing the importance of the Bank of Japan's willingness to shift to tightening and the government's role. He also noted that the foreign exchange market still experiences concentration phenomena overall and can be significantly shaken by external environmental changes such as geopolitical risks.

BNY, established in 1784, is the oldest bank in the United States. It is considered one of the largest custodian banks in the world. As of the end of June, it holds approximately $49 trillion in custody assets and $2 trillion in managed assets.

Lee Kyung-taek, Head of KIC's New York office, said, "As seen in the recent unwinding of the yen carry trade, it was confirmed that the foreign exchange market has an immediate impact on the global financial markets as a whole," adding, "This was a great opportunity to discuss the medium- to short-term outlook of the foreign exchange market with investment officials from Korean financial institutions during a period of high volatility concerns."