January 8, 1997
TO: INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE No. 1-97
RE: INSTITUTE COMMENTS ON EXPECTED KOREAN OFFSHORE FUND RULES
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It has been reported that Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy soon will implement new
rules to permit foreign mutual funds to be sold in Korea. While many of the details of the new rules are
unclear, it appears that Korea intends to require that each foreign fund that is to be sold in Korea
designate a single Korean selling agent to distribute the fund’s shares in Korea.
Attached is a copy of the letter the Institute sent to Korean government officials objecting to this
feature of the proposed new regulatory framework. The letter argued that restricting a foreign fund to a
single agent is not needed for investor protection and will impede the ability of a foreign mutual fund to
distribute its shares in Korea. The Institute urged that this limitation be eliminated before the rules are
put in place.
We will keep you advised of developments.
Mary S. Podesta
Associate Counsel - International
Attachment (in .pdf format)