Vice Chairman Financial Services Commission Mr Kim Yeong Beom
Governor Financial Services Service Yoon Suk Heun
Chairman and CEO Korea Federation of Banks Kim Tae Young
Ambassadors of ASEAN member countries in Seoul,
Friends,
I am delighted to be here this evening. The financial services sector is the backbone of the burgeoning trade and investment cooperation between India and Republic of Korea. We have witnessed a very positive trend in bilateral trade and investment in the recent past and we are now at a healthy USD 20.5 billion of trade and USD 10 billion of investment. But this is just the beginning.
The Indian financial sector is healthy, with sound market capitalisation, experienced and dynamic banks and non banking financial services companies. We have a robust regulatory framework with Reserve Bank of India ensuring compliance with stringent capital adequacy and bad loan recognition norms. Our NBFC sector is also effectively regulated by Reserve Bank of India, and we have successfully weathered the storm caused by the default of one of the largest NBFCs in India.
Leading Korean Banks are already present in India, with IBK, Woori, Shinhan, Nonghyup and KEB Hana Bank having set up branches to serve India-Korea business interests. Kookmin Bank has tied up with one of India's large State owned banks - Bank of Baroda – to offer a range of services including payments and remittances, to each other's clients in their respective countries.
We trust that you will be strong advocates for attracting Korean Capital into India. This is but logical given that potential returns in India are high.
I raise a toast to India-Korea friendship and collaboration in this crucial enabling sector.
