Asset Management Industry Launches First Foreign Currency MMF

The asset management industry introduced corporate foreign currency money market funds (MMFs) to the market for the first time on the 12th.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 12th, six asset management companies began sequentially launching US dollar MMFs starting that day.

On this day, three companies?Samsung Asset Management, Woori Asset Management, and Korea Investment Management?offered dollar MMF products, while three other asset management firms are undergoing the Financial Supervisory Service's review process to launch their products.

This launch follows the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Capital Markets Act in August last year.

At that time, to meet the demand for foreign currency fund management from export companies and others that regularly hold surplus foreign currency funds, the revision allowed foreign currency MMFs investing in currency-denominated assets of OECD member countries (including China, Hong Kong, and Singapore).

Until now, MMFs could only be managed in Korean won.

Currently, six asset management companies have already launched or plan to launch US dollar MMF products, and the Korea Financial Investment Association plans to support the industry in launching various foreign currency MMF products such as Japanese yen, euro, and Chinese yuan in the future.

An association official stated, "Foreign currency MMFs will enable stable management of short-term foreign currency funds generated and held during companies' export and import processes," adding, "It means expanding corporate investors' options by providing products to manage short-term foreign currency funds besides foreign currency deposits."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.