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Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Company |
By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
A noted global consultant said Friday that Korea will see some of its financial services companies emerge as a major force in Asia through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in five years, citing global manufacturing brands, a regional base and government leadership.
``Korea has established global brands such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai. And I think it is very important that Seoul wants to be a financial center, and it wants to be a regional champion based in Seoul,'' Dominic Barton, director of McKinsey & Company, said at a international finance forum in Seoul, Friday.
``That means that you have to think about acquiring institutions or play roles for another part of the region. I am one 100 percent convinced that we're going to have more regional players here,'' he added.
However, the former chairman of the Asian division of the global consulting company stressed that the relationship between financial regulators and firms need to be redefined.
Noting that there is still a prosecutor versus defender mentality between regulator and companies, he said that both parties should work together to solve the problem.
Barton is a member of the Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Leadership Committee and is the chairman of the International Advisory Committee to the President of South Korea on National Future and Vision.
Jeffrey E. Garten, a professor of finance and business at Yale University, echoed Barton's view, saying Korea has the potential to become a regional financial center in Asia.
``The global financial trend is shifting to Asia. I would say definitely yes that Seoul can become the major financial hub in Asia.''
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who organized the conference, said the city is doing its best to provide the best business circumstances to foreigners.
``We have focused on creating the best circumstances which can attract foreign investments. We have built foreigner-only apartments at Woomyeondong in Seocho and will build more in the Sangam DMC (Digital Media Center) area. We have also extended investment on education infrastructure, where children from foreign business families can study. To solve language problems, Ewha Womans University Hospital is providing foreign-specified medical services.''
Many other economic experts, such as Park Cyn-young, principal economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Bridget Rosewell, the chief economic adviser of Grater London Authority, also shared their experiences and ideas at the international conference.
shosta@koreatimes.co.kr
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