Financial Services Commission Announces Detailed ATS Information for May

Planning to Hold ATS Meeting and Explanation Session

The financial authorities will announce detailed operational plans for Alternative Trading System (ATS) trading hours, quotes, and other specifics next month. They plan to conduct pilot trading by the end of this year and begin full-scale operations starting next year.

According to the financial investment industry on the 22nd, the Financial Services Commission will complete the announcement of the corporate value-up program guidelines in early May, followed by the announcement of detailed ATS operational plans. The announcement is expected to include ATS night trading hours and quoting techniques.

Night trading is likely to be allowed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Currently, the Korea Exchange's regular trading hours are from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The financial authorities expect that enabling night trading will help revitalize the stock market. Currently, the Financial Supervisory Service's disclosure reporting deadline is 6 p.m. Therefore, disclosures that may affect stock prices can be confirmed and traded on the same day.

Additionally, the authorities are considering allowing order execution methods other than the current limit order system. A financial investment industry official explained, "Currently, if you place an order to buy 100 shares, the entire order is executed. However, in the U.S., if only 70 out of 100 shares are executed, the remaining 30 shares can be canceled, or if only a partial execution occurs, the order can be canceled with attached conditions."

Furthermore, the Financial Services Commission plans to disclose detailed information regarding fee ratios and exchange support. ATS only has trading functions. Since it lacks market surveillance and clearing functions, it will receive support from the Korea Exchange in these areas.

However, there are also forecasts that listing token securities will be realistically difficult. Legally, only stock-type token securities can be listed, but ATS does not have a listing review function. It is highly likely that the Korea Exchange will be responsible for the on-market trading of token securities.

Previously, the Financial Services Commission completed the preliminary approval of NextTrade, the ATS preparatory corporation, and plans to approve the full license this year. After pilot trading at the end of the year, it plans to officially launch next year.

The securities firms that have currently confirmed participation in ATS are △KakaoPay △Daol Investment & Securities △Kyobo Securities △Daishin Securities △Mirae Asset Securities △Samsung Securities △Sangsangin Securities △Shinhan Investment Corp. △Yuanta Securities △Ebest Investment & Securities △Kiwoom Securities △Hana Securities △Hi Investment & Securities △Korea Investment & Securities △Hanwha Investment & Securities △BNK Investment & Securities △DB Financial Investment △IBK Investment & Securities △KB Securities △NH Investment & Securities △SK Securities △Morgan Stanley △Toss Securities, among others.