S Korea to scrap foreign registration rule for share trading from Thurs -regulator

SEOUL : South Korea will no longer require foreigners to register with authorities in order to trade shares in locally listed companies from Thursday, its financial regulator said, ending a rule that has been in place for three decades.

The Financial Services Commission said on Wednesday that foreigners would instead be allowed to open accounts with an internationally used identification, such as passport for individuals or legal entity identifier (LEI) for organisations.

In a statement released after the completion of legislative changes, the commission said it was also easing a requirement to report transaction details of firms trading shares through an omnibus account to once a month from within two days of settlement.

The changes are part of South Korea’s efforts to improve foreign access to its stock market, which includes a plan to require listed companies to provide corporate filings in English from next year.

However, foreign investors last month criticised South Korea for taking a step backward with a sudden ban on short-selling of shares, which they said makes the market less transparent and hinders foreign access.