ANN/THE KOREA HERALD – South Korea’s financial regulator announced yesterday that a new alternative trading system (ATS) will be introduced in March, aiming to enhance efficiency and convenience in securities trading. The move marks a significant shift in the country’s stock market landscape.
Currently, the Korea Exchange (KRX), established in 1956, serves as the nation’s sole stock market operator. However, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) revealed that a secondary stock trading platform, Nextrade (NXT), will soon be launched to provide investors with an alternative marketplace.
NXT will operate for 12 hours daily, from 8am to 8pm, significantly longer than the KRX’s trading hours of 9am to 3.30pm. The platform will also feature lower transaction fees and a different system for stock bid and ask prices.
Short-selling will be permitted on NXT but restricted during pre-market and after-market trading hours, according to the FSC. Additionally, the platform will adopt key market stabilisation measures from KRX, including daily stock price limits and circuit breakers. A total of 32 brokerage firms are set to participate in NXT, with approximately 800 companies expected to be listed on the secondary exchange. The launch of the new trading system is expected to bring greater competition and innovation to South Korea’s financial markets.
