Citi to boost services for South Korean firms overseas

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) said on Thursday it planned to bolster its institutional banking offerings to South Korean companies in overseas markets with the setting up of new desks in Vietnam and the Czech Republic this year.

Citi has desks in Asia and other regions for large companies based in China, South Korea, India and Taiwan, which provide services across areas including cash management, capital markets, hedging and trade finance.

Citi currently operates South Korea desks in seven locations including Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Moscow, London and New York, providing institutional banking services to Korean multi-national clients, it said.

It will open two more this year - one in Hanoi in July and one in Prague in September - as South Korean companies look to expand their footprint in different parts of the world.

South Korea has emerged as an unexpected hot spot for initial public offerings this year, shooting up to the third most-active market in the world despite political upheaval and diplomatic tensions with neighbors.

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)