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| James Rodríguez de Castro |
Seoul-based derivative houses Hyundai Securities and Woori Securities are preparing to enter the nascent onshore Korean equity derivatives market within the coming weeks. The market was opened in late 2002 when a small band of domestic houses including LG Investment & Securities Co. and Samsung Securities obtained licenses (DW, 10/13/02).
J.K. Lee, head of the international department at Woori, expects to receive its license by mid-May and is preparing to transfer staff to establish the desk. Young Sun Park, manager of the equity department at Hyundai Securities, said it plans to offer equity-linked notes with embedded knock-out options when it receives its license. Hyundai Securities will purchase exotic equity options structured by international firms.
"It's continuing to grow," said James Rodríguez de Castro, managing director in global equity-linked products at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong, noting that the additional houses joining the market will bring more liquidity.
