Korea Investment & Securities Co. Ltd. (KIS), has signed a ten-year strategic outsourcing agreement with IBM. Valued at $157 million, the contract is the largest outsourcing deal in the Korean investment and securities industry.

KIS is one of the country's leading security companies, offering a range of asset management and investment banking services. Since its merger with Dongwon Securities in 2005, KIS has been rapidly expanding its presence in other Asian markets.

Under the agreement, IBM will provide KIS with a full range of IT services. The new IT infrastructure system will be used to support KIS' major business areas, including account and financing, channel management, external interface, data analytics and call centres. In addition, IBM will manage the company's IT infrastructure operation including its management and maintenance.

Byung-ho Lee, Chief Information Officer, Korea Investment & Securities commented: "We decided to transform our business process for the purpose of reinforcing our global competitiveness in the fiercely competitive financial industry. By enhancing our IT capacity, we will be able to actively respond to the rapidly changing global financial environment."