South Korea’s top financial regulator called on the chief of global index provider MSCI Inc. on Friday to include the nation in its advanced market index, officials said.
Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong made the appeal to include the country’s benchmark index in the MSCI’s developed market index during a meeting with visiting MSCI Chairman Henry Fernandez, according to the FSC officials.
While the MSCI categorizes 78 countries into three benchmark indices — developed, emerging and frontier markets — it has maintained South Korea’s emerging market status since 2009, while dropping the nation from its review list of DM index candidates in 2014.
As part of efforts to get the local stock market back on the review list and ultimately to be included in the top index group, the FSC formed a working group last year and has been in talks with the provider on the matter.
“We briefed the MSCI chief on reform measures, including the investor identification system, which the MSCI has long cited as one of the major reasons for its reluctance to put South Korea on the DM index,” an FSC official said, requesting anonymity.
With details to be available later this month, the government has been working to revise the stock management system for offshore investors, and one of the key measures is to introduce the omnibus account structure, another FSC official said.
The omnibus account structure is commonly used to facilitate relationships among brokers, especially when operating in different jurisdictions. It is viewed as an efficient way to bunch customer trading activities into a single account, saving money through economies of scale.
Asked about the matter ahead of the meeting, Fernandez told Yonhap News Agency that now is not an appropriate time to explain it, refusing to give details.
The MSCI decides final candidate countries for the DM index at its annual review meeting, which is slated for June. (Yonhap)
