South Korea’s government on Thursday brought the country’s stock exchange under state control, a move that could derail Seoul’s ambitions of becoming a regional financial hub and spark a legal battle with the bourse. Financial authorities last year declared the Korea Exchange (KRX) an illegal monopoly and said regulators should supervise its accounts and management. But this could not come into force until the finance ministry’s ruling on Thursday. Although South Korea insists its moves fall short of nationalisation, KRX has lambasted state intervention as a retrograde step that will scare off investors.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 5:35 and is filed under Capital markets. Tagged with KRX. Edit this entry.