Gain Capital, a global provider of online foreign exchange (forex) trading services, is opening an office in Seoul, allowing Gain to explore new business development opportunities in Korea's fast-growing margin forex trading industry.
The strategic South Korea location will also further expand GAIN's footprint in the region.
"Our value proposition for prospective partners in Korea is our vast experience servicing sophisticated retail traders and our proven, forex trading technology that offers turnkey execution and clearing services," commented Glenn Stevens, CEO, GAIN Capital.
According to the Korean Financial Service Commission (FSC), South Korean investors' foreign exchange margin trading has increased significantly over the past year, with 361 trillion won traded in the first five months of 2009 as compared with 454 trillion won for all of 2008 and 65 trillion won the year before. In response to this dramatic growth, the FSC recently announced new guidelines for margin FX aimed at improving investor protection, including a 5 percent margin requirement as well as additional disclosure and reporting requirements.
"GAIN Capital and its affiliates are regulated in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan and service customers in over 140 countries," added Mr. Stevens. "We are very accustomed to doing business in highly regulated markets and can assist Korean brokerage firms in developing a robust margin forex offering that is fully localized for the Korean marketplace and compliant with local regulations."
The new office will be located in Yeouido, the Seoul financial district. The addition of the South Korean location to GAIN's existing Asian network, together with the firm's continuing plans for expansion across the Asian region, further enhances GAIN's position as a global provider of online trading services. In April, GAIN announced its acquisition of Fortune Capital Co., Ltd., a privately owned provider of forex trading services in Japan.