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Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. I would like to welcome you to the 9th Seoul International Derivatives Conference. Since the first meetings back in 2003, this conference has gained a lot of attention not only from the local financial markets but from other parts of the world as well. The world financial markets recently suffered from unprecedented volatility. The greater sovereign risk provoked by the downgrading by S&P dealt a finishing blow to the equity markets throughout the world. I'm sure even many professional traders and money managers got tired of this kind of market gyrations. It seems the crisis is still underway. The derivatives have been accused for their alleged role in the financial crisis of 2008. The leveraged operations are said to have generated an 'irrational appeal' for risk taking. It's not surprising that G20's proposals for financial markets reform all stressed these points, and suggested higher capital standards, stronger risk management and international surveillance of financial firms' operations. But no one can deny that derivative products are now a part of the global financial markets, if not a part of our lives.For example, an exporting company might want to buy currency forwards in order to limit losses due to fluctuations in the relative values of more than two currencies. Believe it or not, the Korean government is going to finalize shortly the introduction of hedge funds into its own supervising territory. Timing couldn't be better(or couldn't be worse) since local candidates for prime brokers or fund managers will have to confront headwinds in the market, right off the bat. So I believe the main topic for this year - "Alternative Investment Markets: Realities and Prospects" - more than appropriate for the current market environment. I hope our panelists will share their top-notch insights and experiences with us. Thank you. Seong C. Gweon President & CEO, The Financial News
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