Woori Investment & Securities (I&S), an investment company in South Korea, has been regarded as the strongest player in terms of investment banking (IB).

“We aim to become the top financial investment company in the country by strengthen business sectors such as retail as well as IB,” Hwang Sung-ho (pictured), CEO and President of Woori I&S said in an interview with The Asia Business.

He sets a long-term plan to keep the benefits from its current IB sector and enhance the integrated capacity of linking the business sectors each other. 

“A comprehensive securities company should focus on all,” Hwang said in his inauguration speech last June. “Woori plans to strengthen links among retail, IB and trading, and provide a wider choice of products for customers.”

He stressed Woori will go all-out to become number one in terms of size, profitability, products and services for customers.

The CEO also stressed bolstering customers’ satisfaction, protecting property and maximizing shareholders’ profits as well as good results from the financial investment company.

“Customers often pursue jackpots in the stock market, and so they are likely to be swayed by unverified short-term information,” Hwang said. “We should provide them good information systematically through our research center.”

He also promised to upgrade the firm’s value by thorough risk management and maximize the value of customers’ property.

“Woori plans to prepare an investors protection system for risks from customers’ asset management other than the company itself,” Hwang said. “All the staff ranged from salesmen to executives will focus on risk management.”

Especially, the CEO said that Woori will strengthen training for its staff members.

“We aim at nurturing professionals in diverse sectors, ranging from securities and financial products to tax and real estate,” he said. “All staff members in its sales force will be professionals capable of providing total consultation on asset management.”

Woori will encourage the employees to have a dream and go for it, whatever business division they work in. Leadership means aligning the staff members' dreams with the vision of the company.

Hwang plans to maximize synergetic effects in the Woori Financial Group by cooperating with its subsidiaries, continuing his efforts to advance into overseas market.

“There are good business opportunities in China, including project financing (PF), and private equity funds (PEF) and merger and acquisition (M&A),” he said. “Recently, Chinese firms are increasingly interested in listing in Seoul bourse.”

On top of leading a Chinese firm's initial public offering (IPO) here in April, it received mandate from three more Chinese companies, the CEO said.

“We are striving to spread our business opportunity home and abroad,” Hwang said. “Several investors set to a plan for joining the world stock market including China, the United States and Vietnam by using the home trading system (HTS), and they will also enlarge their overseas network by taking charge of securities there.” 

By Jung, Eunsun
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