3968

Korea Encourages Capital Outflow

Locals Can Buy Foreign Property Without Restriction in December Next Year


From January, Koreans can freely send up to $50,000 per year out of the country without reporting it and will be free to buy unlimited foreign property from December next year.
Also customers can buy and sell foreign currencies at mutual savings banks, post offices and credit cooperatives as banks will lose their monopoly on currency trading next month.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy Thursday unveiled these and other measures designed to encourage capital outflow to curb the won's recent steep gain against the dollar.
Once these restrictions are removed, Korea will become one of the OECD countries where few currency restrictions exist.
The country has already lifted 91 out of 101 regulations on OCED capital movement codes.When new measures are implemented next year, Korea will be scraping two additional rules.

``It is hard to estimate exactly how liberalized the country's foreign exchange regime is. But from the number of foreign exchange regulations we have abolished, Korea's foreign exchange liberalization will be about 93 percent,'' a ministry official said.

From next year, individuals will be able to remit as much as $50,000 overseas a year without supporting documents. Currently, parents of students studying abroad and others who need to transfer money overseas are required to submit evidence to banks stating legitimate reasons for the transfers.


# The Korea Times [NOVEMBER 9, 2007]