Second Vice Minister Kim Yoon-sang visited Tokyo, Japan from July 4 to 5 to meet with Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) of major Japanese pension funds and host an investor presentation for asset management firms and trust banks, with an aim to facilitate Korea’s inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI).

※ The Schedule for the Investment Presentations for Japanese Investors

< July 4^th >

     15:00   Meeting with Japan Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)

     16:30   Meeting with Japan Pension Fund Association (PFA)

< July 5^th >

      09:30   Roundtable session with Japanese asset management firms

                * Participating institutions (9): Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management(AM), Daiwa AM, Blackrock Japan, SOMPO AM, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust AM, AM One, Meiji Yasuda AM, Nissay AM, 

                   Resona AM.

      11:00   Roundtable session with Japanese trust banks

                  * Participating institutions (4): Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, Mizuho Trust and Banking, Nomura Trust and Banking, SMBC.

VM Kim introduced the advantages of the Korean government bond market to Japanese investors, highlighting the country’s steady economic recovery, robust fiscal soundness, and high level of treasury bond liquidity. He particularly pointed out that numerous institutional improvements have been made recently alongside the establishment of a new investment foundation to enhance foreign investors’ access to the bond market.  

He particularly provided detailed explanation on the following measures: ①Tax exemption for foreign investments in government bonds (January 2023), ②Abolition of the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) (December 2023), ③The opening of an omnibus account for government bonds (June 2024), and ④FX market reform^*. He noted that these measures have greatly improved the convenience for foreign investors in the government bond market.

^*  Institutional reforms to align with global standards, which include opening the FX market to foreign financial institutions, extending trading hours (09:00 a.m. -15:30p.m. → 02:00 a.m. of the following day), allowing third-party FX transactions, and reducing the burden of FX transactions reporting.

In addition, he mentioned that along with these institutional improvements, it is crucial for global investors to experience firsthand the enhanced accessibility to the government bond market; in this context,

he expressed his commitment to maintaining continuous and close communication with global investors, including those in Japan, going forward.

Please refer to the attached files.