Korea’s over-the-counter market extends trading hours

Korea’s over-the-counter financial market, known as K-OTC, will extend trading time by 30 minutes from Aug. 1, the Korea Financial Investment Association said Wednesday.

The market will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. starting next month in order to increase convenience for investors.

The extended K-OTC hours are aimed at boosting off-board trade, which has an estimated market size of 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion).

“In line with the extension of the securities market by the Korea Exchange, the K-OTC market also needs to be open longer for investor convenience and to prevent possible confusion,” the association said in a press release.

In hopes of encouraging investors to be more active, the Korea Exchange, operator of the benchmark Kospi and tech-heavy Kosdaq, decided in May to extend trading time on Korea’s stock markets by 30 minutes, also starting in August, the first change of its kind in 16 years.