Mirae Asset Securities is teaming up with a major Singapore brokerage to roll out a foreign investor omnibus account service. As Southeast Asian investors gain more ways to access South Korea's stock market through local brokerages, the base for inflows of overseas individual investors is expected to expand.

Mirae Asset Securities said on Sunday it signed an agreement with Singapore-based brokerage UOB Kay Hian to provide a Foreign Investor Omnibus Account service and has started the service.

A foreign investor omnibus account is a service that supports local investors' trading of South Korean shares through an omnibus account opened by an overseas brokerage at a South Korean securities firm.

Overseas investors can invest in South Korean shares through their local brokerage trading systems without separate procedures to open an account in South Korea. For South Korea's market, it is expected to reduce barriers for overseas individual investors and, over the long term, broaden the base of foreign investment.

The agreement was promoted with discussions led by Mirae Asset Securities' Singapore unit with the local brokerage. Mirae Asset Securities sees it as a chance to improve access to South Korea's stock market for investors in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

UOB Kay Hian is a securities affiliate of UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Limited, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange. It is considered one of Singapore's representative brokerages, with a market capitalisation of about 4 trillion won, or 4 billion Singapore dollars.

Mirae Asset Securities plans to expand cooperation on the foreign investor omnibus account service with overseas financial institutions, starting with this agreement. It is currently in discussions with multiple overseas brokerages.

A Mirae Asset Securities official said, "We are expanding cooperation with overseas financial institutions to improve global investors' access to the Korean market," adding, "We will continue to provide a convenient investment environment."