NYSE Euronext’s technology unit has signed an agreement with a state-backed South Korean technology firm to extend its connectivity network to Korea, as market participants await new rules that could open up the country’s main stock market to competition.

The deal lets the 1,300 members of NYSE Technologies' network connect to the 130 Korean financial firms that use the KOSCOM hub. The hub uses FIX, the industry-wide connectivity standard, aiding cross-border trading.