Yun Byeong-un, president of NH Investment & Securities and vice chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, said, "The financial investment industry must move to restore its original 'corporate finance function,'" and noted, "It needs to play two roles: fostering innovative corporations in advanced industries and reorganizing distressed industries through restructuring finance."
Yun made these remarks at "The role of the securities industry and growth strategies for expanding productive finance," held at Bulls Hall in the Geumtu Center in Yeouido, Seoul, on Jan. 15.
Yun stressed that for innovative corporations in the growth stage, the industry should expand new investment methods such as mezzanine and growth-type private equity funds that combine the strengths of stocks and bonds, and that for traditional industries such as steel and petrochemicals, it should support business reorganization through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and restructuring finance.
This seminar, co-hosted by the Korea Financial Investment Association and the Korea Capital Market Institute, was organized to discuss the securities industry's strategies and tasks for industrial growth and reorganization.
Park Yong-rin, vice president of the Korea Capital Market Institute, said the securities industry should serve as a core platform that supports stage-by-stage financing for the growth of innovative corporations and intermediates venture capital. Park proposed policy tasks to this end, including expanding licensing and designation for the issuance bill and the integrated managed account (IMA) businesses, and laying the groundwork for participation in business development companies (BDC).
Seo Jeong-hak, president of IBK Securities, said that to improve capital market access for small and venture corporations, it is necessary to relax the NCR application standards for venture capital investments and expand opportunities to participate in dedicated funds.
Seo said, "Supplying venture capital to about 8 million small corporations and 40,000 venture corporations has limits if left only to comprehensive financial investment companies," and added, "Only when small and mid-sized securities companies join in is fine-grained support possible."