S Korea to invest over $100 mln in high-tech heavy stock market

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Chinese media) -- Korea Exchange (KRX), the

country's stock market operator, together with asset management companies, plans

to invest 200 billion won (144 million U.S. dollars) in the high-tech heavy

KOSDAQ stock market, the Korea Times reported on Monday.

The plan was an effort to bring about an upward turn

in the junior, tech-heavy stock market, which has shown no sign of recovery amid

the global financial market recession, the Korea Times said.

"The launch of the fund will be linked with the

categorization of the market. There will be prime and vision indices following

categorization. They could be the benchmark indices for the fund," said Hwang

Sung-yoon, an executive in charge of KOSDAQ at the KRX.

"We had talks about the fund with the executives of

five asset management firms last week. It could be a 50 to 50 investment with

the KRX funding 100 billion won (72 million U.S. dollars), and the asset

management firms funding another 100 billion won (72 million U.S. dollar)," said

Hwang, adding that the launch of fund is planned in the first half of this year.

KRX CEO Lee Jung-hwan said earlier last month that

the KRX is planning a KOSDAQ fund as a new growth engine for the market.

The fund is linked to the KRX's plan to classify the

junior market as prime, vision and general markets. Blue-chip companies would

form the prime market, while firms with strong growth potential would constitute

the vision market, the report said.

According to Hwang, the lack of an influential

benchmark index was the biggest current problem in the KOSDAQ market. Around 60

to 70 percent of the fund would be invested in the prime market and 30 percent

in the vision market, he said.