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Mayor emphasizes incentives for firms moving into Yeouido
November 07, 2009
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Over 400 local and international financial policy makers, industry experts and scholars participated in the fourth annual conference, at the Shilla Hotel in downtown Seoul. Attendees included Financial Services Commission Chairman Chin Dong-soo, Korea Exchange Bank CEO Larry Klane and Jeffrey Garten, a business professor at Yale University. This year’s theme was “Seoul as an International Financial Hub After the Financial Crisis.” In a visual presentation accompanying his keynote speech, Dominic Barton, global managing director of McKinsey & Company, said the “international community may have turned the corner on the financial crisis.” If Seoul wants to grow more prominent in global finance, Barton said, the city and central governments need to work together to develop regulations and a tax code for a “new global investment architecture,” while guarding against protectionism. Citing Korean conglomerates such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai, Barton said Korea needs to create a similar financial brand. Korea could also take a role in connecting China, Japan, the U.S., Europe and emerging economies, Barton said, and “develop a niche financial center by building on its strengths.” Barton’s suggestions included “institutionalizing liquidity arrangements and an exchange-rate mechanism amongst Asia’s central banks and establishing a robust securitization market in Asia that would learn from the lessons of the U.S. failures.” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was on hand to explain the city’s plan to gain a competitive edge in Asian finance. “One of the major efforts we made was designating Yeouido as a center of finance and an industry ‘new town’,” Oh said in the forum’s opening speech. “To emphasize the point, though, we are planning to build a Seoul International Finance Center in Yeouido and provide diverse incentives to the companies that have their offices in Yeouido, including local tax incentives.” Oh said the city will also improve the living environment for international residents by building schools, hospitals and cultural facilities. The conference was launched in 2006 as the “Asian Financial Centers Summit,” but changed its name in 2007. This year’s summit was hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr] |
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