Shinhan Bank Holds 4th K-Global Leap Forward Win-Win Forum for Korean SMEs’ Penetration of US Market

President Jung Sang-hyuk of Shinhan Bank.

Shinhan Bank held the 4th K-Global Leap Forward Win-Win Forum to support Korean companies’ entry into the U.S. Market, jointly with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul on May 21.

The forum is aimed at supporting the global expansion of Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises.

This conference was the fourth to be held, following those related to Korean companies’ advancement into Vietnam, Europe (Poland, Hungary and Lithuania), and Central Asia (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan).

Kim Jae-min, head of Shinhan Bank’s Global Business Group (fourth from the left) poses for a photo with other officials at the 4th K-Global Leap Forward Win-Win Forum: Conference at the headquarters of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on May 21. (Photos: Shinhan Bank)

It was organized to provide practical information to Korean SMEs considering expansion into the U.S. market in response to changes in Korea-U.S. trade environments and a restructuring of global supply chains.

Experts from the Korean government and the public and private sectors participated in the event, including Shinhan Bank, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the U.S. Embassy in Korea, the Association of American State Offices in Korea (ASOK), Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Cushman & Wakefield, Sejong Law Firm and Samjong KPMG.

The conference covered key topics necessary for breaking into the U.S. market, such as U.S. market strategies, industrial environments and case studies by major U.S. states, global expansion guarantee systems, location selection strategies by industry, U.S. subsidiary establishment, tax/accounting practices, work related to personnel dispatches and the foreign direct investment process, and supports provided by Shinhan Bank.

In addition, participating companies received one-on-one customized consultations in finance, law, and taxation, and showed positive responses.

Currently, Shinhan Bank, with its North American FDI Center taking the lead, provides customized support to Korean SMEs including local subsidiary establishment, foreign direct investment reporting, financial support, investment advisory, and networking.

Successful Participation in Project Agorá Verification

Shinhan Bank announced on June 2 that it has completed its participation in the verification of the Project Agorá, jointly organized by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) on May 27.

The Project Agorá is a global public-private partnership aimed at improving issues such as processing delays, high fees, and complex verification procedures that occur during cross-border payments.

The central banks of seven countries including the Bank of Korea and more than 40 global financial institutions participated in going over a next-generation payment structure utilizing tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits.

Shinhan Bank participated as the only private sector lead institution in Korea and led key discussions in business, technology, and legal fields alongside other major central banks and financial institutions.

In the project, Shinhan Bank presented opinions reflecting the Korean financial market and regulatory environment regarding matters requiring reviews in actual financial transactions, such as multi-currency real-time settlement, settlement finality, anti-money laundering, personal information protection, and regulatory compliance which are necessary for the use of Korean won-based deposit tokens for overseas payments.

Through this participation, Shinhan Bank confirmed its potential to expand its digital financial infrastructure strategy into the realm of cross-border payments.

It continues to cooperate with major Korean and foreign institutions such as discussing global digital asset cooperation plans with the management of Citigroup in January and signing a memorandum of understanding for innovation in deposit token-based digital financial infrastructure with the Bank of Korea in April.

Based on its experience accumulated from participating in the Project Agorá, Shinhan Bank will participate in Real Value Testing (RVT).

RVT is a process that goes beyond prototype verification to confirm the applicability of a payment structure based on the premise of actual value transfers. It will examine potential for using Korean won-based deposit tokens for global payments by linking Shinhan Bank’s head office with its overseas branches and offices.