[THE INVESTOR] The Bank of Korea said on July 19 that it has chosen 31 local and foreign financial institutions allowed to participate in the central bank’s open market operations starting next month.

Seoul-based Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank, as well as the local offices of Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas Bank, were among the 18 selected banks, along with 13 non-bank organizations, including Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo.

The BOK said they will become eligible to buy and sell government securities like the market stabilization bond in the open market on Aug. 1 for a year.

Open market operations are part of the central bank’s efforts to manage the market liquidity and short-term interest rates through controlling the supply of reserve balances held by financial firms.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)