US overnight trading platform gears up to make comeback in Korea
US alternative trading system Blue Ocean ATS hopes to resume trading service for Korean investors soon, following a six-month halt sparked by its system crash in August.
Operated by Blue Ocean Technologies, the ATS provides overnight trading of US stocks, enabling Korean investors to trade during their daytime hours.
'We have invested in Korea with our technology, support and compliance. I believe we are close (to recommence the service),' Blue Ocean Technologies CEO and President Brian Hyndman said in an interview held with The Korea Herald at a hotel in Yeouido, western Seoul, Thursday.
In August, Blue Ocean shut down its matching engine due to a surge in trade volume, resulting in the cancellation of orders worth 630 billion won ($435 million) across 90,000 accounts here. Since then, local securities firms have suspended the service.
As the brokerage houses requested Blue Ocean Technologies to set up measures to prevent relapse, the company has completed the immigration to a new server and set up a new accommodation policy for investor protection.
Though the compensation dispute over the outage was not the key reason that stopped the trading, Blue Ocean Technologies recently worked out a new accommodation policy, which includes financial compensation of up to $250,000 per month.
At the time of the incident, the company did not have the rules for compensation. It is not the standard for an ATS to have a compensation policy in the US, according to Hyndman.
"But I wanted to do that (come up with a compensation policy) for Korea going forward to give (the investors) a level of comfort," he said.
For a better local presence, the company has set up an office in Seoul, appointing former representative director of LSEG Korea Kim Suk-joon as vice president and head of the north Asia-Pacific region.
'We fully demonstrated in the proof that we are ready to accommodate any businesses from Korea and most of the Korean customers are eager to resume businesses with us anytime," Kim said while joining the interview.
According to Kim, Korean brokerage firms have shown a willingness to resume trading with Blue Ocean.
"(The brokers) are waiting for the signal from the Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Financial Investment Association (Kofia)," Kim assessed, explaining Blue Ocean relies on the association to communicate with the financial regulator. Kofia is a representative body of the local brokerage firms.
"The association is likely to poll the brokers to make sure that everybody is comfortable trading soon," Hyndman said, projecting the statement of the market inclination will help resume the business.
While Korea had accounted for 65 percent of Blue Ocean ATS' share volume prior to the outage, the business has been growing strong even without the country, according to Hyndman.
'A lot is going on in the US equity markets with the new president's tariffs, Deepseek, and AI stocks. We had three record days in the past month -- record national volume being traded on Blue Ocean even without Korea,' Hyndman said.
Despite the stable growth, Blue Ocean Technology wants Korea back on the table.
'Korea is a big part of our business. We want to get it back and we want to give the customers the offering that they are used to,' Hyndman said.
While the daytime trading of US stocks for Korean investors had been exclusively offered by Blue Ocean, the market competition is likely to grow. More US exchanges are gearing up to expand their trading hours into the night hours, such as Moon ATS and 24X Exchange. Though Blue Ocean enjoyed its exclusivity in Korea, Hyndman welcomes the new competition.
'If we have a couple of competitors trading in the overnight space, the market is going to get bigger,' Hyndman said. 'Do I want to do 100 percent of 50 million shares or do I want to do 40 percent of half a billion shares, right?'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Samsung chief visits Songdo to boost bio push
Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong visited Samsung Biologics' campus in Songdo, Incheon, on Monday, a move interpreted by industry observers as an indication of his commitment to nurturing the bio sector as the group's next major growth engine following semiconductors. According to industry sources, the chair toured the Songdo campus of Samsung Biologics alongside key executives, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chair Jung Hyun-ho and Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim. During the visit, he reportedly inspected production facilities and process equipment and held strategic discussions with senior management. Since assuming leadership of Samsung, Lee has emphasized the importance of developing the bio business into a future growth pillar on par with semiconductors. In 2022, he attended the completion ceremony of Samsung Biologics' Plant 4 on the Songdo campus. Samsung Biologics surpassed 4 trillion won ($2.9 billion) in consolidated annual revenue last year, becoming the first Korean biopharma company to reach the milestone. In a strategic move to bolster competitiveness, the company announced on May 22 the spinoff of Samsung Bioepis into a newly established holding company, Samsung Epis Holdings. Under the reorganization, Samsung Biologics will continue focusing exclusively on its core CDMO operations. Samsung Epis Holdings will serve as an R&D-driven holding company responsible for biosimilar development, new technology investment and global strategy planning. By structurally separating its two growth pillars — CDMO and biosimilars — Samsung aims to build a more agile and responsive system that can better meet the demands of customers, investors and the broader market.
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
S. Korea-China-Japan cooperation crucial as ‘buffer' as Trump 2.0 roils Asia
APEC summit will serve as springboard for bolstering trilateral coordination, observers say Trilateral cooperation among South Korea, China and Japan has become more essential than ever as a buffer in Northeast Asia fraught with mounting volatility and uncertainty under US President Trump's second term, former high-ranking officials and experts said. Observers from the three countries held the view that Northeast Asia has become the central battleground in the intensifying great-power rivalry between the US and China during a forum hosted by the North-East Asia Research Foundation, a Seoul-based think tank, on Monday. Chung Duck-koo, former minister of trade, industry and energy, underscored that 'further strengthening trilateral relations among South Korea, China and Japan would be highly beneficial,' as Northeast Asia sits at the fault line between the North Korea–China–Russia bloc and South Korea–US–Japan cooperation. 'As a group that intersects both triangular frameworks, our cooperation could serve as a bridge for promoting shared prosperity and safety,' Chung, who serves as the founder and incumbent chair of the NEAR Foundation, said in his opening speech during the forum "The Trump 2.0 Era and its Implications on Northeast Asia." "Such efforts could help ease or neutralize tensions and mitigate sources of conflict in the region." Kim Sung-han, a former national security adviser in the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, underscored that "the geopolitical confrontation between North Korea–China–Russia alignment and the ROK–US–Japan partnership is likely to intensify further." The ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea. Kim elucidated that the US has been doubling down on its strategic pivot to the Indo-Pacific region from Europe, setting the termination of the war in Ukraine in sight, while curtailing its military engagement in the Middle East. At the same time, China is expected to bolster its strategic partnership with Russia while reinvigorating ties with North Korea. 'In this context, trilateral cooperation among ROK, China and Japan becomes increasingly important to help ease regional tensions and prevent further polarization,' commented Kim, who currently serves as a professor of the Graduate School of International Studies at Korea University. Kim further explained, 'Trump 2.0's foreign policy is likely to push the Northeast Asian order toward a binary confrontation, which could weaken the strategic foundation for trilateral cooperation among ROK, China and Japan." 'Paradoxically, however, in the face of rising tensions, pragmatic and interest-based cooperation among those three countries may become even more necessary,' Kim said. 'As a result, Korea-China-Japan trilateral cooperation could serve as a 'diplomatic shock absorber' that helps ease geopolitical tensions and maintain regional equilibrium.' In his keynote address, Yun Byung-se, former foreign minister under the Park Geun-hye administration, said, 'Dialogue, exchanges and cooperation among South Korea, China and Japan are extremely valuable assets, amid the seismic geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts.' Observers also concurred that the North Korean nuclear challenge underscored the need for tighter Korea-China-Japan cooperation. Yun pointed out that 'North Korea will negotiate from its most advantageous strategic position since the Korean War' if a summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un materializes. 'Depending on the result, another shock may come to the landscape of Northeast Asia,' Yun said. 'Prior coordination between South Korea and the US, and among South Korea, the US and Japan, as well as close consultation with China, will be necessary.' Voicing similar views, Hitoshi Tanaka, former deputy foreign minister in Japan, also underscored that 'especially on pressing issues such as North Korea's nuclear program, close trilateral coordination is imperative.' Observers said this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit — set for late October to early November in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province — will provide a valuable venue to advance trilateral cooperation. 'We understand China's sensitivity regarding Taiwan,' Tanaka said. 'However, just as APEC clearly separates political and security matters, including Taiwan in such frameworks should be considered to demonstrate that economic cooperation can transcend political divides.' The APEC summit will invite leaders from 21 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Taiwan. 'We hope that the leaders of our three countries — South Korea, China and Japan — will also take advantage of this opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue,' Chung of the NEAR Foundation said. 'Regardless of the challenges that may arise, South Korea, China and Japan should aim to be in the same boat and remain committed to discussing any issue in depth. In this regard, we must not make the mistake of allowing the past to hinder the future,' Chung added.
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Korean biopharma firms gear up for record presence at BIO USA 2025
Samsung Biologics to showcase CDMO scale-up, digital transformation with largest Korean booth Korean pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are gearing up for a strong presence at the 2025 BIO International Convention (BIO USA), one of the world's largest biopharma exhibitions, which will take place in Boston starting June 16. Organized annually by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, BIO USA rotates among major US biotech hubs and serves as a premier global platform for industry leaders to explore strategic partnerships and collaborations. This year's convention, held under the theme 'The World Can't Wait,' will run from June 16 to 19 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The event is expected to draw more than 9,000 companies from 88 countries and over 20,000 professionals from across the biopharma sector. Roughly 80 Korean companies and organizations will participate by setting up booths. Samsung Biologics Samsung Biologics, one of the largest exhibitors, will mark its 13th consecutive year taking part in the event. It will set up a 167-square-meter booth at the entrance of the exhibition hall — the area with the highest foot traffic — to maximize visibility and draw visitor attention. The booth will showcase the company's expanding contract development and manufacturing organization capabilities through high-tech features such as an LED display wall and interactive touchscreens. These elements are designed to communicate Samsung's advanced service offerings with a strong emphasis on digital transformation in biopharma. Highlights will include a comprehensive look at Samsung Biologics' latest advancements, such as the recent launch of its fifth manufacturing plant, boosting its total production capacity to 784,000 liters — among the highest in the world. The company will also spotlight its capabilities in multi-specific antibody development, its newly introduced antibody-drug conjugate services and AI-driven operational systems, all of which support its goal of becoming a global top-tier CDMO. Other leading Korean CDMO and CMO firms — Celltrion, SK Biopharmaceuticals and Lotte Biologics — will also be attending, competing for new contracts against major players from the US, China and Japan. Celltrion, participating for the 16th year, will operate its own booth to promote products and engage with potential partners, while SK Biopharmaceuticals plans to focus on increasing global brand recognition through a series of high-level business development meetings. Lotte Biologics will showcase its ADC production facilities at the Syracuse Bio Campus and unveil the development roadmap for its Songdo Bio Campus Plant 1, scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2027. Although Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Hanmi Pharmaceutical will not operate a booth at the event, they will participate through business meetings, aiming to strengthen their global presence by showcasing ongoing research and development efforts in new drug discovery. The Cha Vaccine Institute will use the event to promote its shingles (CVI-VZV-001) and hepatitis B (CVI-HBV-002) vaccines, focusing on licensing and joint development opportunities. The institute aims to build partnerships across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America to explore co-development and tech transfer prospects. The Cha Vaccine Institute will also participate in the company presentation sessions and the Korea Pavilion pitching event, where it will outline its research pipelines and market strategies. 'We will introduce our proprietary adjuvant platform and vaccine development capabilities at BIO USA, aiming to turn this exposure into real business outcomes,' said Yeom Jeong-seon, CEO of the Cha Vaccine Institute. Meanwhile, Korea BIO will play a significant role at the convention. The Korea Pavilion will feature a record 51 Korean companies, and Korea BIO will facilitate discussions with the US BIO association on key issues, including customs regulations, drug pricing and supply chain resilience, while also providing a partnering platform for domestic companies. According to an industry insider, Korea stands to benefit significantly from shifting global dynamics at this year's BIO USA. 'As US-China tensions reshape the global biotech supply chain, Korean firms that can quickly adapt to geopolitical shifts are well-positioned to secure major deals. Their strong technological base and aggressive manufacturing scale-up efforts make them attractive alternatives to Chinese firms facing regulatory hurdles, potentially positioning Korea as a central beneficiary in the new global order,' the official said, on condition of anonymity.
