Seoul – The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea announced on Sunday its plan to relax regulations concerning the establishment of foreign branches and investments in offshore funds by financial companies. The FSC stated that starting Saturday, an advanced notice for a week will be issued regarding the revision of the regulation on financial companies' overseas operations.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Under the proposed revision, financial firms will have the flexibility to first invest in an offshore fund or set up a branch abroad and then report the activity to either the FSC or the Financial Supervisory Service within a month. Currently, companies are required to report their plans in advance when investing over US$20 million annually in an offshore fund or when establishing a foreign branch.
Furthermore, the revision will simplify the reporting process for capital calls related to offshore funding. Financial companies will only need to make an initial report on capital calls, as opposed to the current requirement of reporting each time a capital call occurs. The finalization of this regulatory change will be subject to a vote by the FSC after the period for advanced notice concludes.