Korea to Lift Five-Year Ban on Short Selling Finance Stocks
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South Korea will allow investors to short sell financial stocks from tomorrow, signaling that regulators believe banks and insurers are strong enough to withstand the lifting of a ban imposed during the 2008 crisis.
The restriction is being removed because equities have stabilized since July and the government wants to bolster capital markets, the Financial Services Commission said today in an e-mailed statement. Short sales occur when an investor sells borrowed securities in anticipation of a price decline.