Hana Bank starts 24-hour foreign exchange trading

Hana Bank began offering 24-hour foreign exchange trading on Monday alongside other local banks as part of the government's efforts to make the currency market more accessible and support Korea's bid for inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Developed Markets Index.

Under the new system, the government has extended trading hours, which were previously from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day, to 6 a.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Saturday. Having an around-the-clock market is expected to make the market more accessible for global investors as well as import and export companies that require foreign exchange trading, the bank said.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol visited the bank’s trading room in central Seoul on the day the new hours began to monitor real-time developments in the extended foreign-exchange trading hours and to hold a video conference with Hana Bank’s London branch, a registered foreign exchange institution, to hear market sentiment.

“We expect global investors’ investment in Korean government bonds and won-denominated assets to increase as Korea’s 24-hour foreign-exchange market is launched,” Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo said in a statement.

Meanwhile, despite numerous efforts, Korea failed to be added to the MSCI’s Developed Markets Watch List this year. MSCI said it acknowledges the measures announced by Korean market authorities to address longstanding concerns, but investors have indicated that fundamental issues have not been fully resolved.

In addition to the extension of the foreign exchange market hours, Korea plans to launch an offshore won settlement system in January next year.

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]