Mirae Asset Securities is considering establishing overseas subsidiaries in Japan and Australia. It is restarting its overseas expansion nine years after setting up its India unit in 2017. The move is seen as reflecting Chairman Park Hyun-joo's determination to grow Mirae Asset into a global wealth management group.
On the 14th, according to the financial investment industry, Mirae Asset Securities has recently been preparing to establish local subsidiaries in Japan and Australia. However, Mirae Asset Securities is said to have not yet submitted the filing to establish overseas units. An industry official said, "At the working level, initial steps are underway to prepare for the establishment." Under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, domestic financial institutions must file and report to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to set up overseas subsidiaries.
Mirae Asset Securities currently operates in nine countries, including the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Brazil and India. Once the incorporation process is completed, Japan and Australia will become the 10th and 11th markets, respectively.
If Mirae Asset Securities establishes a Japan subsidiary, it will be targeting the Japanese market again for the first time in 10 years since Mirae Asset Daewoo closed its Tokyo branch in 2016. Since the introduction of the recent "new NISA" (a tax-exempt small investment program), a large influx of retail funds into the stock market has rapidly expanded the wealth management market in Japan. In Australia, the superannuation market, the country's retirement pension system, has been growing quickly.
Mirae Asset Securities is actively expanding its overseas footprint. Last year, its overseas subsidiaries alone generated 500 billion won in pre-tax profit. That was about a 200% increase from the previous year and the best performance since it began its global business.
Regarding this, Mirae Asset Securities said, "Nothing has been decided yet regarding the establishment of subsidiaries in Japan and Australia."