<p>South Korea’s
financial authorities have settled to revise the country’s Foreign Exchange
Transactions Act that was introduced in 1999 following public outcry against
the limits of the policy, Korea Times reports on Friday.</p><p>As part of the revision, the outlet reports, <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/south-korea/” target=”_blank” rel=”follow”>the South Korean government</a> has sanctioned nine
securities firms licenses to engage in the business of currency exchange, serving
both corporate and individual customers. Initially, only four brokers’ houses
were permitted, and they were limited to serving corporate investors only.</p><p>Korean Times further reports that the move will help reduce the commission
charged for money exchange as banks and securities brokerages compete for
clients. </p><p>South Korea Revises Policy Under Forex Transactions Act</p><p>The adjustment of the long-standing forex rules also affects other areas.
For instance, while South Koreans currently have to remit less than $50,000 a
year in order to avoid submitting documentary evidence of the fund, starting
from June, they will be able to do the same for up to $100,000 a year. </p><p>Furthermore, the revision also means that businesses in the country are
no longer limited to $30 million in terms of the amount of foreign currency
they can borrow without having to report it to the country’s Finance Ministry.
The amount has now been reviewed upwardly to $50 million. The change
came in response to South Korean business owners’ desire to expand their global
presence. </p><p>Moreover, South Korean business organizations under the revised version
of the policy are no longer required to file regular reports to the country’s
financial authorities about their overseas branches or stake of over 10% in a
foreign company; they can now only fille the report once in a year. </p><p>South Korea Embraces Offshore Firms in FX Markets</p><p>Meanwhile, Finance Magnates recently reported that South Korea is <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/institutional-forex/south-korea-to-allow-offshore-firms-to-participate-in-fx-markets/” target=”_blank” rel=”follow”>seeking to approve</a> the participation of
offshore firms in its local forex markets in order to meet up with global
standards. The country also plans <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/south-korean-watchdog-to-investigate-forex-activity-in-local-banks/” target=”_blank” rel=”follow”>to extend the running of its forex markets</a> to 17
hours a day in order to allow activities continue up to London’s business hours. </p><p>Currently, only 54 certified local financial institutions, including
banks and securities firms, are approved to participate in South Korea’s
interbank forex market. However, the government intends to change this by
permitting registered offshore firms, with the exception of principal trading
firms and hedge funds, to engage in the country’s spot and forex swap
exchanges. </p>
This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.
