Goldman Sachs is gearing up to begin derivatives trading onshore in Korea in the coming months on the back of applying for a banking license. "A banking license will give us a greater ability to offer products," said a Goldman official. The firm is planning to establish a fixed income and fx derivatives platform for the growing Korean market, with intentions to bring aboard sales and trading staff.
Jae-Hyuk Park, director in global market sales at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong, came on board in the last few months as part of the effort. Korean market officials said Goldman is aggressively looking to hire additional derivative marketers, who will initially be based in Hong Kong until the onshore operation kick-starts. Park, who rivals said is a top marketer for Korea, particularly in the credit derivatives space, did not respond to messages.
This year several securities firms including Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch have been ramping up onshore derivatives businesses to take on the established international banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS (DW, 7/22).
