Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday the South Korean government's efforts to make its capital city a regional financial hub in Asia are still in an early stage.

Greenspan made the remarks when he was speaking to a financial conference in Seoul via satellite.

"For Hong Kong and Singapore, in fact, they have been able to realize the size of economy," said Greenspan, who stepped down earlier this year from the post.

"However, Seoul is clearly of developing in this ... and I expect Seoul gradually make this way to become international financial center," Greenspan said.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has vowed to make his country a financial hub in the region, aimed at attracting more foreign investment and making Asia's fourth-largest economy more transparent.

But, the task is still daunting, many analysts here say, mainly due to South Korea's relatively lower corporate governance, regulatory barriers and government red tape compared with its rivals, especially Shanghai and Tokyo.

Greenspan cited what he called an "existence of trust" among market participants as one of the most important factors to establish the financial center.

"To develop a financial center ... the issue isn't interest of developing infrastructure," Greenspan said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2006)