Morgan Stanley is building its presence in the onshore Korean market and recently brought aboard market veteran Jang Ho Park, head of debt capital markets at UBS in Seoul, to spearhead the initiative. Park, who is now based in Hong Kong, confirmed his hire, declining further comment.
Officials at the firm said Morgan Stanley is preparing to apply for an onshore fixed-income trading license. One Korean derivatives head noted the high-profile hire is a sign the firm is ready to make a significant commitment to the Korean market. "He's a big name here," added another official, noting Park helped shape UBS into a top player in the Korean market over the last several years. Park is seen as a good salesman with a strong client base.
Morgan Stanley has been eyeing the Korean market for a few years (DW, 11/18/02), but has now found the right candidate to lead the charge in the face of mounting competition, official said.
The move follows rivals hiring senior market professionals to launch onshore operations in Korea. Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs have all initiated onshore fixed-income derivative efforts (DW, 6/27). "The new wave has been securities houses moving onshore in Korea. In the future there will be severe competition in the derivative markets," said one fixed-income head, noting the securities firms are taking on established banks including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS.
At UBS, Park's responsibilities have been assumed by Dojin Kim, who joined from JPMorgan in Seoul earlier this month as an executive director and head of debt capital markets, according to Hye-Young Kim, spokeswoman at UBS.
