THE first South Korean securities company to be granted a licence by Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission will officially open its office in the territory tomorrow.
Coryo Securities Corp's executive vice-president Lee Jeong-woo, who is in the territory to officiate at the opening, said many Korean institutions were keen to invest in Southeast Asian equities, but until now they had to place their orders through foreign brokerages.
''There is no other South Korean securities house in Southeast Asia with a trading licence, although some of them have opened representative offices to gather market information.'' Mr Lee said last year six South Korean brokerages opened offices in New York, but Coryo Securities chose Hong Kong because it believed that Southeast Asian equity markets were more promising.
''There is a lot of money in New York, but we believe that economic growth in Asia is better and the markets will do well.'' Coryo Securities was adopting a long-term approach to the Hong Kong market and was here to stay, Mr Lee said.
Coryo Securities made its first foray into Asia when it set up a branch office in Tokyo in September last year. The brokerage is one of the biggest in South Korea with a staff of 1,300 in Seoul and 32 offices nationwide.
Its parent company, Coryo Group, is a widely diversified financial group with interests in insurance, securities, investment management and research.