Finance minister calls 24-hour forex market 'starting point for won's global leap'

Korea's foreign exchange market no longer sleeps. As the country launched round-the-clock trading on Monday, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol called the move "the starting point for the won's global leap" and said it would enhance the appeal of both the Korean capital market and the won.

Koo and Kwon Min-soo, deputy governor at the Bank of Korea (BOK), visited the foreign exchange trading room at Hana Bank headquarters in Jung District, central Seoul, for the first day of 24-hour trading, according to the BOK and the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

"The launch of the 24-hour trading system reflects Korea's confidence in its economic fundamentals, including its strong external soundness and record-breaking current account surplus," said Koo. "It is a reform measure reflecting foreign investors' growing demand for our foreign exchange and capital markets, as demonstrated by Korea's inclusion in the World Government Bond Index." 

Korea's 24-hour foreign exchange market officially began operating at 6 a.m. on Monday.

Previously, dollar-won trading ran from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day on weekdays. Under the new system, trading will run continuously from 6 a.m. on Mondays to 6 a.m. on Saturdays. Trading will also remain open on Korean public holidays, except weekends and New Year's Day.

Koo emphasized that the government, the BOK, banks, securities firms and brokerage companies had worked closely together to prepare for round-the-clock trading.

The new system will create opportunities for exporters and importers to manage foreign exchange risk in real time and enable domestic financial institutions to expand their operations, according to Koo.

The finance minister added that the government would also proceed as planned with other foreign exchange market reforms, such as the launch of an offshore won settlement system scheduled for January next year.

Representatives from Hana Bank, exporting companies and foreign exchange traders at overseas branches said they would actively make use of the new infrastructure to quickly adapt to the new trading environment and strengthen the global competitiveness of Korean companies.

BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]