SEOUL :South Korea’s financial market watchdog chief pledged on Thursday authorities would come up with more corporate reforms, adding to a plan unveiled last month designed to lure more foreign investment into the country’s companies.
“As we work to contribute to the economy by fostering a sound and fair financial environment, we also aim to boost Korea’s attractiveness as an investment destination,” said Lee Bok-hyun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
“This means promoting market practices that allow Korean companies to be valued correctly by their financial health and industry outlook. To this end, we will further develop and refine the government’s Corporate Value-up Programme,” Lee said.
His remarks were made at the agency’s annual event held in Seoul for foreign investors in South Korea, with more than 200 attendees from financial firms, embassies, business groups and related agencies.
In February, South Korea unveiled a reform package, dubbed the “Corporate Value-up Programme”, seeking to resolve the so-called “Korea discount” in the local stock market. South Korean firms tend to have lower valuations than their global peers due to factors such as low dividend payouts and the dominance of opaque conglomerates known as chaebols.
The FSS is eager to bring various improvements to speed up the development of the currently undervalued capital markets and creat a more transparent environment for foreign investors, Kim Seong-wook, director general of the agency’s planning department, said in a presentation session.
South Korea is currently considering several ways to beef up the reform plan, including tax incentives, after the initial proposal fell short of market expectations.
