(image: Kobiz Media / Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The volume of transactions processed through the decimal point trading service for foreign stocks has been on an upward trend since it was introduced three years ago.
According to data that Rep. Youn Kwan-suk of the ruling Democratic Party received from the Financial Services Commission, the number of users of the decimal point trading service during the period from October, 2018 to August this year totaled 715,000, with the total transaction value estimated at US$1.25 billion.
Starting from $10 million in the first year of the service (Oct. 2018-Sep. 2019), the transaction volume surged to $160 million in the second year and $1.08 billion in the third year. The monthly per-capita transaction amount ranged on average from $141 to $1,039.
Shinhan Financial Investment Co. introduced the decimal point trading service for foreign stocks in Oct. 2018, a first in South Korea.
Customers making use of the service can buy and sell American stocks by dividing them into units as small as two decimal places (0.01 of a share).
Korea Investment & Securities Co. followed suit in August last year by launching a service that allows users to invest in foreign stocks starting from 1,000 won (US$0.86) and segments as small as six decimal places.
At present, the number of foreign stocks that can be traded in decimal points through the two securities firms stands at 386 and 430, respectively.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
