(Adds govt and ASX comment, details, share price)
SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Australian government is
delaying a decision on opening the country's equities clearing
facility to competition for two years, extending the monopoly of
stock exchange operator ASX Ltd.
Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Monday the ASX had agreed to
develop a code of practice within six months to ensure
transparent and non-discriminatory access to its infrastructure
in the interim.
So far, only European clearing house LCH.Clearnet has
applied for a licence to provide rival equity clearing services
in Australia. London-based LCH.Clearnet was not immediately
available for comment.
Concerns about relinquishing control of the nation's
clearing and settlement systems was a major reason cited by Swan
when he vetoed an $8 billion takeover bid from Singapore
Exchange for ASX in 2011.
That scuppered ASX's plan to join a wave of mergers in
recent years between exchange firms around the world as
traditional operators try to cut costs and boost their offerings
to fend off growing competition from alternative trading
platforms and so-called "dark pool" operators that link
anonymous buyers and sellers.
The ASX deal with Singapore would have bolstered the
Australian bourse against the October 2011 launch of the Chi-X
platform, owned by Nomura, which ended the ASX's
two-decade monopoly.
The Council of Financial Regulators will review the new Code
of Practice at the end of the two-year period and consider
whether a new entrant should be permitted.
Chi-X signed a five-year deal with ASX Clear at its
start-up, but stressed the agreement was non-exclusive and it
would welcome the opportunity to use a different clearing house.
In a bid to dissuade defectors to a potential rival, ASX
this year began sharing half the extra revenue it makes from its
trading, clearing and settlement business with customers in a
scheme to last three to five years.
ASX Chief Executive Elmer Funke Kupper said on Monday the
existing settlement system is "efficient, well-capitalised and
well-regulated," adding the ASX was making investments to
strengthen Australia's position in Asia.
That includes the launch of the clearing of OTC-traded
derivatives this year -- Monday's decision applies only to the
clearing of cash equities and does not extend to clearing and
settlement services of either exchange-traded or OTC derivative
markets or debt markets.
There was A$14.8 trillion of trade in OTC derivatives last
year, against A$1.1 trillion of turnover in equities, suggesting
a lucrative market for both ASX and LCH to pursue.
ASX shares were up 0.45 percent at A$36.11 in early trade.
The stock has risen 18 percent over the past year, just ahead of
a 16 percent rise in the S&P/ASX 200 index.
(Reporting By Jane Wardell; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Shri
Navaratnam)
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