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Korea to launch alternative trading system in March for stock market overhaul

Published: 06 Feb. 2025, 10:57 Updated: 06 Feb. 2025, 16:39

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room shows the Kospi opening on Feb. 6. [YONHAP]

Korea's financial regulator said Wednesday that an alternative trading system will set sail in March for greater efficiency and convenience in the trading of securities, heralding an overhaul in the country's stock market.

Currently, the Korea Exchange (KRX), launched in 1956, is the country's only national operator of the stock market.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said the country's secondary stock trading platform, dubbed Nextrade (NXT), will run for 12 hours from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., longer than the trading hours from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the main bourse operated by the KRX.

The NXT will also offer lower fees compared to the main bourse, and introduce different stock bid and ask prices.

Short-selling will be allowed, but banned during pre-market and aftermarket trading hours, according to the FSC.

The KRX's daily stock price limits and market stabilization measures, such as a circuit breaker, will be also introduced on the NXT.

A total of 32 brokerage houses will join the NXT, and some 800 companies will be listed on the secondary stock exchange.

Yonhap