South Korea is exploring regulations to block investment banks without domestic securities licenses from arranging overseas bond sales for local issuers, according to people familiar with the matter. The Ministry of Finance and Economy has sought industry feedback through a survey sent by the Korea Financial Investment Association. The government aims to close regulatory gaps and align with global standards, citing unfair competition against fully licensed domestic institutions that bear operational costs.
The proposed restrictions come as foreign bond sales by South Korean issuers surged 31% to $65.6 billion this year. South Korean issuers now rank third in the Asia-Pacific region for dollar and euro bond offerings, behind Japan and Australia, accounting for approximately 13% of all such deals. The move could impact both local borrowers seeking overseas capital and global investment banks involved in underwriting these transactions.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing