Samsung Securities Co., the brokerage unit of South Korean largest conglomerate Samsung Group, will launch brokerage services allowing Korean investors to trade shares of Taiwanese companies for the first time among Korean brokerage houses.

The Korean brokerage firm on Thursday announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KGI Securities - Taiwan’s second largest securities firm that also offers stock and futures brokerage services in Hong Kong - to allow Korean investors to trade Taiwan-listed stocks starting 1 August.

Following the deal, Samsung Securities will be the first Korean securities firm providing brokerage services of Taiwan-listed companies’ stocks for local traders. The company expected Taiwan-listed stocks to attract many investors in Korea after Taiwan stock benchmark index TAIEX has recently entered a bull market, driven by strong performance in semiconductor and IT companies.

Under the deal, Korean investors will be able to trade Taiwan stocks by placing a minimum order of 1,000 shares per transaction during Taiwan Stock Exchange trading hours, which are from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Korean time. Investors will be able to place trading orders via offline services, but the Korean company plans to launch online brokerage services in September.

Both brokerages houses also agreed to further expand their cooperation on a range of other areas including equity research and analysis, investment banking and proprietary trading, as well as equity-linked product trading. They are also said to be planning to offer similar services allowing institutional investors in Europe and North America to trade Taiwan shares and sell other financial products in Korea, according to the company.

The addition of Taiwan stock trading services will allow Samsung Securities to provide offshore brokerage services for stocks listed in total 29 countries including the United States, Japan and Hong Kong. It provides a one-stop stock trading service from changing currencies and checking out international commodity prices to making a stock purchase.

By Han Ye-kyung

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