(Updates with Credit Suisse comment)
SEOUL, Feb 9 (Reuters) - South Korea's financial
regulator said on Thursday it imposed fines on five foreign
firms in December for violation of naked short-selling rules in
the local stock market.
Naked short-selling of stocks - in which an investor short
sells shares without first borrowing them or determining they
can be borrowed - is banned by the Capital Markets Act in South
Korea.
Bellevue Asset Management AG, Credit Suisse International , Lingohr & Partners Asset Management GmbH and MEAG
Hongkong Limited were each imposed a fine of 45 million won
($35,787) for illegal trading in 2021, while Invesco Capital
Management LLC was fined 75 million won, according to the
statement.
Responding to a Reuters request for comment, Credit Suisse
said it "has cooperated with the regulator's enquiries at all
stages and we are comfortable that the matter has been closed in
a manner that supports market integrity and fairness".
The other four firms did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
It was the first time the Financial Services Commission
has publicly named firms that have been fined for breaking
market rules. The regulator announced in December that it would
from now on name firms that are subject to a penalty, citing a
need for more effective regulatory action against disruptive
market behaviour.
South Korea is making various efforts this year, including
regulatory reforms, to make its local stock market more
accessible for foreigners, in a bid to attract more inflows to
the market.
($1 = 1,257.4400 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Susan Fenton)
