South Korea’s government has found a tool to keep the retail investors that are increasingly dominating the stock market happy: A short-selling ban that’s turning into one of the world’s longest and broadest.
In August, the government extended the ban the country imposed in March for another half a year, much to the consternation of institutional investors needing to short sell to manage risks. That ban was prolonged even though the benchmark Kospi has soared about 60 percent since its March swoon. The extension makes the ban one of the longest by any major market in the wake of COVID-19.
The rationale for this continued ban lies with the increasing importance of individual investors, who make up 70 percent of the stock market now, according to analysts and regulators.