Branch would be first overseas venture for S.K. bank
Woori Bank will open an investment banking unit in Hong Kong next month. It would be the first time a South Korean investment bank has set up a foreign office, and attention is focused on whether the unit will succeed in one of Asia’s largest financial hubs. Named Woori Global Markets Asia, the investment bank will be established with a paid-in capital of 50 million USD. In addition, two foreign financial institutions have pledged to invest 20 million USD before the end of next week. On July 7, the Financial Supervisory Service gave approval for Woori Bank to set up its Hong Kong branch.Woori Global Markets Asia will handle businesses for companies, financial institutions, and governments in Asia, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. The bank’s main business transactions will be the brokerage of large-scale loans, property development financing, and acquisitions and mergers. Hyun Sang-soon, president of Woori Global Markets Asia, said, "Unlike other [South Korean] industries, our financial industry has not been active in foreign expansion. We aim to create a new growth engine and profit model for the local banking industry." Currently, foreign offices of local banks handle entry-level business such as foreign currency exchange and deposits by Korean companies and Korean nationals. Woori Global Markets Asia will employ a total of 19 bankers, including 15 foreigners. Woori’s three-year tarket is to generate 200 to 300 million USD in annual profit out of the Hong Kong branch, with the number of employees expected to rise to between 100 and 200. Four South Koreans working with the Hong Kong branch have started to stockpile their 600-percent bonus payments, Hyun said, "and will return all the money to the company unless more than 80 percent of the targets are achieved."
