The FSC has designated six securities firms as financial investment companies specialized in investing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)1: eBest Investment & Securities, Eugene Investment & Securities, IBK Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Korea Asset Investment & Securities and SK Securities.

The designation will be valid for two years starting from May 4, 2020. The designated firms will be granted policy incentives, such as preferential treatment in the selection process for state-backed fund managers or favorite terms in the provision of securities-backed loans, etc. They will be required to report their performance in SME financing to the financial authorities every six months. If their performance record in the semi-annual report is deemed insufficient twice in a row, the financial authorities may revoke the designation.

The government will continue to work on supportive measures for SME-specialized investment companies to better serve financing needs of SMEs and start-ups.

* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.