SEOUL :South Korea from Monday will re-impose a ban on short-selling shares at least until June to promote a “level playing field” for retail and institutional investors, financial authorities said on Sunday.
The ban was lifted in May 2021 for trades involving the shares of companies with large market capitalisation included in the KOSPI200 and KOSDAQ150 share price indices. The restriction has remained in place for most other stocks.
Short-selling involves selling borrowed shares to buy back at a lower price and pocket the difference.
“The measure is aimed at fundamentally easing ‘the tilted playing field’ between institutional and retail investors,” Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun told a news briefing.
“Amid continued uncertainty in financial markets, major foreign investment banks have been engaged as a matter of practice in unfair trades … and we…
