Tullett Prebon, the global inter-dealer broking firm, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tullett Prebon Money Brokerage (Korea) Limited, has been granted a foreign exchange licence by the Ministry of Finance and Economics in South Korea.
Tullett Prebon is the first inter-dealer broking firm to obtain a licence for a wholly-owned subsidiary in South Korea. A team of 20 brokers has begun trading from an office in Seoul. The business will eventually offer a full product range but will initially focus on interest rate swaps, forwards (deliverable and non-deliverable) and dollar denominated derivative products.
“This investment in South Korea is an important strategic development for our Asian business,” said Lou Scotto, chief executive of Tullett Prebon. “Increasingly clients are looking for onshore, rather than offshore support. By establishing an office in South Korea we are delivering precisely the kind of local market presence that is required. We have ambitious growth plans for Asia-Pacific and this is the first of a number of opportunities which we are pursuing.”
Len Harvey, CEO of Tullett Prebon Asia-Pacific, added “Traditionally, our industry has been offshore, working from other centres in the region. Going forward, we believe the trend will be for a much greater level of localisation and this is precisely what we are announcing today: access to international talent and a global network delivered through a local office.”