Finance ministry advances MSCI inclusion roadmap with access reforms

The finance ministry said Friday it had completed 30 of 39 measures in its roadmap for inclusion in MSCI's developed-market index, turning next to trading and settlement barriers faced by foreign investors.

One measure due this month is e-FX guidance on system stability and internal controls for financial institutions using algorithmic electronic foreign-exchange trading.

The ministry will in September allow securities-settlement facilitation payments with stocks and bonds as well as cash, then recognize exchange-traded securities expected to be received as collateral from October. The Bank of Korea network is scheduled for a September pilot before implementation in 2027. It would let foreign investors hold, transfer and settle won abroad without Korean accounts.

Round-the-clock operations in the foreign-exchange market began July 6. The won-dollar rate remained stable relative to other major currencies, the ministry said. Average daily interbank spot trading rose 10.1 percent after hours were extended compared with the first-half average, while the infrastructure has operated without failed trades. Nighttime trading was increasing only gradually because the system is still in its early stages and because of time differences with overseas markets, the ministry said. Authorities will give overnight volumes extra weight in selecting leading banks for the won-dollar market.