Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday
the South Korean government's efforts to make its capital city a
regional financial hub in Asia are still in an early stage.
Greenspan made the remarks when he was speaking to a financial
conference in Seoul via satellite.
"For Hong Kong and Singapore, in fact, they have been able to
realize the size of economy," said Greenspan, who stepped down
earlier this year from the post.
"However, Seoul is clearly of developing in this ... and I
expect Seoul gradually make this way to become international
financial center," Greenspan said.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has vowed to make his
country a financial hub in the region, aimed at attracting more
foreign investment and making Asia's fourth-largest economy more
transparent.
But, the task is still daunting, many analysts here say, mainly
due to South Korea's relatively lower corporate governance,
regulatory barriers and government red tape compared with its
rivals, especially Shanghai and Tokyo.
Greenspan cited what he called an "existence of trust" among
market participants as one of the most important factors to
establish the financial center.
"To develop a financial center ... the issue isn't interest of
developing infrastructure," Greenspan said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2006)
