23 September 2008

Nasdaq OMX eyes London listings

Transatlantic exchange Nasdaq OMX has disclosed plans to establish a listings venue in London, just days ahead of the launch of its MiFID-compliant pan-European multilateral trading facility.

Transatlantic exchange Nasdaq OMX has disclosed plans to establish a listings venue in London, just days ahead of the launch of its MiFID-compliant pan-European multilateral trading facility.

 

Nasdaq OMX says it will file an application to become a recognised investment exchange (RIE) so it can launch a London listing venue in a move that will put it in direct competition with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) for listings.

 

The news comes just days before the Nasdaq OMX becomes the first US-based exchange to launch a MTF in Europe. The European platform will start trading 25 components of the UK FTSE 100. Eventually the alternative equities platform will trade approximately 600 securities.

 

The exchange says it will also offer pricing based on global transaction volume - a move designed to attract liquidity to the new European platform and its other markets. The group is also introducing new listings services to make it easier for companies to access multiple listing markets more efficiently and with less bureaucracy.

 

"The goal is to provide customers with the economic benefits of our scale, options that will allow them to expand their investor base more efficiently, and a relationship that seamlessly crosses borders," says Bob Greifeld, CEO, Nasdaq OMX.

 

"Global customers want to deal with global enterprises. While this has been the norm in most industries, the exchange space has been the exception to the rule," says Greifeld. "Nasdaq OMX is the first exchange to execute on the promise of consolidation, which is to function as an integrated, global enterprise."

 

Earlier this month the group said the pricing structure for the pan-European MTF will - in the majority of cases - make it less expensive to route orders through the platform than to trade on the primary markets.

 

However, with the launch of its pan-European platform later this week Nasdaq OMX is entering the increasingly crowded post-MiFID market in Europe. Chi-X Europe was the first MTF to launch in the European market and is thought to have taken a 15% market share of FTSE 100 stocks. Meanwhile the bank-backed Turquoise platform, which becomes fully operational today, claims it captured two per cent in its testing phase.

 

In the three weeks since it began trading in over 1200 stocks across 13 European countries, Turquoise says there have been days when it has seen over EUR1 billion traded on four consecutive days. It says it is on target to reach five per cent market share for year end 2008.

 

Says Eli Lederman, CEO, Turquoise: "While we're very pleased with the initial market share gains, we know that volumes develop over time. More important is to have launched as we now have, and to have established Turquoise credentials with market-leading technology and progressive functionality."

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