KRX opens German office to promote EU certification of Korean indices

The Korea Exchange said that it opened its third overseas office in Frankfurt, Germany, and would promote the EU Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) certification for Korea's major stock indices next year.

The exchange held an opening ceremony for the KRX Frankfurt Office at Sofitel Frankfurt Opera in the city's downtown on Thursday.

The opening ceremony was attended by Consul General of Korea in Frankfurt Koh Gyeong-Seok, Eurex CEO Michael Peters, as well as high-ranking officials from London Stock Exchange Group, Standard & Poor's, Dow Jones, Morgan Stanley Capital International, Qontigo, FactSet, and Morningstar. Officials from around 20 global exchanges and index calculation institutions attended.

This is the third overseas office opened by the exchange, after Beijing in 2008 and Singapore in 2017.

The Frankfurt office will be responsible for responding to regulatory affairs in the EU for major indices such as the KOSPI 200. It also plans to establish a network with exchanges and financial institutions in the EU.

Korea Exchange Chairman Sohn Byungdoo revealed plans to promote EU Benchmarks Regulation certification at the ceremony. The EU BMR, which came into effect in 2018, is a law that regulates benchmark indicators such as indices and interest rates to be estimated and disclosed in a transparent and fair manner.

Institutions producing benchmark indicators outside the EU must be accredited by the European Securities and Markets Authority by the end of 2023 at which the grace period would end.

"We plan to promote convenience for European investors who invest in the Korean capital market through EU BMR certification and continue to make efforts to help European investors make investments in our indices," said Chairman Sohn.

Write to Se-Yeong Choi at seyeong2022@hankyung.com