By Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee
INCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) – South Korea is seeking to have its domestic bonds added to a key international market index this year although the decision may not be made until September next year, the country’s finance minister told Reuters on Wednesday.
The government has said it hoped its bonds would be added to FTSE Russell’s World Government Bond Index (WGBI) as early as this year, a move that is widely expected to bring fresh foreign funds into domestic capital markets.
“Under the usual timetable, it will be September next year, but the government will make maximum efforts to make it happen earlier than that,” Choo Kyung-ho told Reuters.
Choo also said that reviving a currency swap arrangement with Japan had not been discussed in meetings this week with his Japanese counterpart, although it expects to expand economic cooperation with Tokyo as diplomatic relations improve.
(Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sam Holmes)
