The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it has appointed branches of KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank in Shanghai, China, as clearing houses for won-yuan direct trading when the market opens.

The envisioned currency market in Shanghai, scheduled to launch within the first half of this year, is Korea’s maiden step to allow offshore trading of its currency. China is Korea’s biggest trading partner, accounting for some 25 percent of its exports. 


In Seoul, the won-yuan market opened in late 2014 and China’s Bank of Communications has been serving as the yuan clearing house.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)