ASIA : SK Telecom announced the launch of 'Mobile Trading System' (MTS Service) that lets customers access a wide range of stock information, and conduct mobile stock trading, regardless of the securities company. This service starts on the 18th of August.

The MTS Service provides a single program, through a PDA, that lets customers carry out a variety of stock trading. This includes futures, options, and ECN trading anytime and anywhere, regardless of the securities firms. Further, customers can receive stock trading related information on a real-time basis. This includes market situations, stock news, stock trading indices, hot news, etc.

Previously, when customers wanted to use stock trading services wirelessly, they had to use stock trading programs and terminals designated by the securities firms. In order to overcome this inconvenience, SK Telecom developed MTS which is a universal software.

Currently 6 domestic securities firms are involved in the MTS service. These are Kyobo Securities, Tong Yang Investment Bank, Meritz Securities, Kiwoom.com Securities, Hanwha Securities, and SK Securities. SK Telecom plans to increase the number of affiliated securities firms in the future.

One of the other positive features of MTS service is the greatly strengthened security achieved through introducing a customer information outflow prevention function. This service gives great security in financial transactions by adopting an up-to-date wireless security solution (SSL v4) applied through a decoding technology that is suitable for the wireless environment.

In addition, the company will introduce a flat rate plan for exclusive stock trading, so stock traders who use the service frequently, can use the service much more economically.

SK Telecom plans to distinguish the service from other services by offering a vast array of real-time customized information such as, analysis on particular customer interest stocks, stocks recommended by specialists, and outlining investment strategies. This information will be provided by carefully selecting content from Paxnet, which is the best stock information site in the nation.

The PDAs that can provide the services are 6 models of POZ (Cyberbank), Mits, M-400, Nexio (Samsung Electronics), iPAQ H3630, and iPAQ H3850 (Compaq). Additional models of PDAs will be launched by the end of this year.

In order to use the service, customers who have applied for Home Trading Service (HTS) with a securities firm, should download the MTS through the wireless Internet, and access it with the same ID and password used in their HTS. In the case of customers who do not have an ID of HTS, they can use the MTS after applying for an HTS ID from a securities firm.