Chi-X Australia Ltd., the market that is challenging the 150-year monopoly of the ASX Group Ltd., may offer trading in all shares of the S&P/ASX 200 Index and all exchange traded funds from Wednesday November 9.
Peter Fowler, Chi-X’s chief operating officer, says the exchange will examine how trades in six Australian stocks and two exchange-traded funds settle tomorrow and on Monday, October 7, before deciding whether to offer the wider service.
“I don’t envisage any settlement problems,” says Fowler. “People want to feel comfortable and by the end of Friday they may have additional confidence and put more money” through Chi-X.
He says Chi-X has attracted 22 brokers to trade through it. Its trades are settled through the ASX’s clearing and settlement system. UBS AG expects Chi-X to garner as much as a 15 per cent share of all trading in Australian stocks in the next six months.
Chi-X’s competitor is not lying down.
“ASX is ready for the new environment and has been working on its preparedness for several years,” ASX chairman David Gonski said at the company’s September annual general meeting. “We have a history of successfully embracing the dynamic development of financial markets and proactively dealing with change.”
But ASX Trade, the platform upon which various order books of the ASX operate, couldn’t operate for almost four hours on October 27. Problems with network connectivity prevented brokers from interacting with the trading platform.
