Service back for Korean investors after 15-month halt
Blue Ocean Technologies said Tuesday it is “fully prepared” for the resumption of U.S. stock trading during Korea’s daytime hours, as Korean brokerages restarted the service following a 15-month suspension.
The U.S.-based alternative trading system (ATS) also said it is welcoming back Korean investors — one of its largest customer groups.
“Blue Ocean Technologies is excited to welcome the return of Korean investors trading on our sophisticated platform,” said CEO Brian Hyndman in a statement to The Korea Times. “The Blue Ocean ATS platform is fully prepared for this development and continues to expand its global presence.”
Starting Tuesday, 18 major Korean securities firms resumed daytime trading of overseas stocks.
The service, backed by ATS platforms like Blue Ocean, allows Korean investors to trade U.S. equities during local market hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The regular U.S. trading session runs from 11:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. (Korea Standard Time).
The service had been halted in August 2024 amid fears of a potential U.S. recession.
Blue Ocean, which exclusively handled Korea’s daytime U.S. orders at the time, unilaterally canceled pending trades on Aug. 5, 2024, amid a wave of sell orders. Roughly 630 billion won ($437.6 million) in transactions were canceled, affecting approximately 90,000 investor accounts, according to financial authorities.
Korean brokerages suspended the service on Aug. 16, 2024, citing investor protection.
To prevent future disruptions, Korean brokerages have now signed agreements not only with Blue Ocean, but also with two additional U.S.-based ATS platforms — Bruce and MOON — to serve as backup providers.
Blue Ocean has since upgraded its system to improve processing speed and trading capacity. The company also opened a Seoul office on Jan. 22 to support local clients.
During a visit to Korea on Feb. 6, Hyndman issued a formal apology to affected investors and pledged to prevent a repeat of the 2024 incident. Prior to the suspension, Korea accounted for 65 percent of Blue Ocean’s business.
“We believe that competition (with other ATS) is healthy for the overnight trading ecosystem, and Korea’s connectivity will help drive overall liquidity growth in Asia Pacific across the marketplace,” Hyndman said.
Analysts expect the service’s resumption to intensify competition among Korean brokerages, which are seeking to capture more retail investors with growing demand for international equities.
In the second quarter, combined commission revenue from overseas stock trading at Korea’s top 10 brokerages hit 472.6 billion won — a 60 percent jump from a year earlier. For the first half of the year, revenue reached 854.3 billion won, approaching the 1 trillion won mark.
“We plan to provide a wider range of investment information and focus on building a stable trading environment in line with the extended trading hours,” an official at Toss Securities said. The firm is among the 18 brokerages that resumed daytime U.S. stock trading services this week.
Original Article – Link
