Seoul

TRADING hours at the South Korean stock market should be extended by an hour at least so that they overlap with other regional markets to encourage more foreign investment, the head of the Korea Financial Investment Association (Kofia) said. The market currently closes at 3 pm local time (0600 GMT), an hour earlier than mainland Chinese markets and two hours earlier than Hong Kong.

Hwang Young-key said the organisation's members had asked for the longer trading hours and that he "strongly agreed to the idea". Kofia has 163 members including brokerages and asset management companies. "Other markets such as Hong Kong remain open until 4 pm local time, and so extending trading hours here will give foreign investors an opportunity to better trade between markets in the region," said Mr Hwang.