FSC tests foreigner-friendly omnibus accounts today

The Financial Services Commission said on Tuesday it will test-run the so-called omnibus account at seven financial institutions, including a foreign institution starting today. The system will be tested through mock transactions at the institutions before the official launch in 2017.

The omnibus account is a simpler registration system for foreign investors. The FSC aims to simplify the current foreign investor registration system to attract more non-Korean investors and expand the size of the equity market.

The ultimate goal of the eased regulations is to achieve a development market status in the Morgan Stanley Capital International indexes. “The test-run is to help foreign investors feel less inconvenience and prevent errors,” said an FSC official. “Detail improvements will be made to the system before the launch.”

Under the newly-introduced Omnibus Account, foreign investors will be able to invest in a number of different funds by opening a single account.