Markit, a leading global diversified provider of financial information services, today announced it has signed an agreement with Koscom, a financial solutions provider based in Korea. Koscom will now distribute Markit's credit default swap data via its extensive terminal network.
Under the agreement, Korean investors will have access to Markit's flagship iTraxx Asia indices as well as global sovereign and corporate CDS data including Korean companies via Koscom's terminals.
Founded in 2003, Markit was the first company to offer a daily CDS pricing service. This service now covers approximately 2,600 individual entities and is used by over 1,000 customers globally, including banks, asset managers and regulators.
Koscom has played a pivotal role in the development of the Korean capital markets by facilitating access to premium datasets to the investment community. The company currently provides investment analysis via its terminals to professional investors across the entire financial arena, including buyside and sellside institutions.
Kevin Gould, president of Markit and head of Markit Asia Pacific, said: "Korea is an important market for us and we are delighted to be partnering with Koscom, a company that is highly regarded by the investment community in Korea.
"Our CDS pricing data, including a broad range of liquidity measures and sensitivity metrics, is a valuable tool to measure credit risk and identify investment themes, and we look forward to bringing this information to the Korean marketplace."
Markit continues to grow its presence in Asia Pacific. Last month, the company was selected by members of the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association to provide the online solution to facilitate compliance with Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission's new electronic trading rules. Markit employs more than 750 people in Asia Pacific, supporting 400 customers from offices in Hong Kong, Noida, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.