South Korea has fined an agent acting for GIC for naked short-selling, while the SGX proposes smaller board lots to lower entry cost for investors.
South Korea fines GIC agent for naked short-selling breach
A third-party agent acting for Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC was fined 120.6 million won ($90,000) for naked short-selling, South Korean regulatory filings showed.
GIC was among the six asset managers and securities firms fined a combined 3.97 billion won by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) over naked short-selling, according to a report by The Korea Times.
Naked short-selling is the practice of selling shares without first borrowing them or ensuring they can be borrowed, resulting in a failure to deliver the shares at settlement.
GIC said the violation stemmed from “operational lapses, errors and breaches” by its agent of contractual arrangements, and that the agent had accepted full accountability to the Korean regulator.
SFC reduced the fine by 50%, citing GIC’s status as a foreign public institution and noting there were no gains from the violation, only losses, the filings showed.
GIC said it does not engage in uncovered short sales and will continue reviewing operational processes with third-party agents to prevent a recurrence. It said it has invested in South Korea for over two decades.
SGX proposes smaller board lots to lower entry cost for investors
Singapore Exchange (SGX) has proposed cutting standard board lot sizes for higher-priced securities to lower the minimum cash needed to invest, making trading more accessible to retail investors.
In a consultation paper dated Jan. 23, SGX said it plans to reduce board lots from 100 units to 10 units for instruments priced above S$10 and up to S$100, and from 100 units to one unit for those priced above S$100.
The proposal covers not only stocks but also stapled securities, real estate investment trusts, business trusts, company warrants excluding SPAC warrants, and depository receipts and depository shares.
Ng Yao Loong, SGX Group’s head of equities, said prices of some of the bourse’s largest stocks have risen sharply in recent years, and about 30% of trading activity now comes from stocks priced above S$10. Cutting lot sizes would bring the minimum investment “from a few thousand dollars to just a few hundred”, he said.
The move follows recommendations by the Equities Market Review Group set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in August 2024 to bolster the stock market’s development.
