Nextrade (NXT) is moving to charge for market data it has provided for free. With the Korea Exchange (KRX) also revamping prices and services, South Korea’s stock-market data business is entering a more direct monetization phase.
According to the financial investment industry on May 5, Nextrade plans to begin charging for market data starting next March. A Nextrade official said, “NXT has provided data free of charge since launching in March last year, but we plan to switch to a paid system starting next March.”
Nextrade has already signed data-supply contracts with major market-information providers in and outside South Korea and is pushing to convert previously free data into paid products.
The company is expected to set its rates at about half the Korea Exchange level and expects data-business revenue to grow to 10% to 20% of total sales. It is also preparing internally, including by tightening accounting procedures.
The exchange is also accelerating efforts to reorganize and expand the business through pricing adjustments and service changes, including raising prices in March for “historical data,” which provides past figures. Brokerages said it was effectively the first price increase since commercial sales of historical data began in 2017.
A KRX official said revenue in the segment was 1.9 billion won in 2024, but “after the Kospi enjoyed a boom last year, including ranking first in returns among major countries’ indexes, it jumped to 4.2 billion won, up 121% in a year.” The official added, “By understanding customer preferences and offering standardized products, we improved convenience in selecting and using data by market unit.”
KRX is focusing on improving delivery speed by adopting cloud-based infrastructure. It is continuing cloud upgrades this year and has also reorganized product structures. Since last year, the exchange has expanded subscription models to meet demand from customers who want daily data delivery. It has also built a system to automatically supply large-volume datasets, including order-book quotes and trade execution data, widening its service scope.
To improve overseas investors’ access to data, KRX is upgrading services centered on the Korea Data Marketplace (KDM). It is also reviewing a data business based on disclosure filings and plans to introduce an XBRL-based disclosure system next year to explore ways to turn disclosures into data products.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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