Last Year, Financial Infrastructure Institutions' Overseas Cooperation Projects Surge 85.3%

Last year, overseas cooperation projects of South Korea's financial infrastructure institutions significantly increased.

The Overseas Financial Cooperation Council (OFCC) announced on the 17th that the overseas cooperation projects of South Korean financial infrastructure institutions reached a total of 63 last year, an 85.3% increase compared to the previous year. This represents about a fivefold increase compared to 2020, when overseas cooperation projects were reduced to 13 due to the impact of COVID-19.

Overseas cooperation projects refer to all projects and activities conducted by financial infrastructure institutions that are members of the OFCC with overseas financial authorities, institutions, and international organizations.

Among the overseas cooperation projects, 85.7% (54 projects) were independently conducted projects targeting partner countries. This was followed by projects linked to international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (6 projects), and Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects (3 projects).

By region, overseas cooperation projects were concentrated in Southeast Asia (about 40%), followed by Europe (19%) and Northeast Asia (11%).

Jang Min, head of the Overseas Financial Cooperation Support Center, emphasized, "Financial infrastructure encompasses all systems, safety nets, and institutions that enable financial markets to function smoothly, and stable financial infrastructure is essential for corporate activities. It is encouraging that domestic financial infrastructure institutions have increased international organization-linked projects based on their own capabilities."

The OFCC was launched in 2013 to support the overseas expansion of domestic financial institutions and share financial development experiences. It consists of a total of 25 public and private financial institutions and financial associations. Currently, the Korea Institute of Finance is responsible for its operation.