An upstart challenger to South Korea’s main bourse has drawn legions of risk-loving traders, capturing nearly a third of the market in just months and propelling the country to become the world’s best-performing major equities market this year.
Nextrade launched in March to break the Korea Exchange’s 70-year monopoly on equities trading and advance the country’s capital markets. By November, it was handling nearly a third of turnover by value in South Korea’s $2.4tn in stocks. Daily trading value topped Won11tn ($7.4bn), about double that of Singapore Exchange, according to Nextrade.
The alternative platform has appealed to South Korea’s amateur investors, who are known for their aggressive trading strategies and high risk tolerance. They have become a dominant force in the local stock market, fuelling the main index’s gains of 75 per cent this year.