Plans to connect stock exchanges in southeast Asia to reduce the cost of cross-border equities trading have moved forward with an agreement on the link's design and the announcement of a tender.
Four exchanges from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Bursa Malaysia, the Philippine Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand – have been working with NYSE Technologies on the design of the ASEAN Trading Link since an initial letter of intent was signed at the tenth ASEAN Exchanges CEO meeting in Manila in February 2010.
While it was initially announced that NYSE Technologies would provide the link, including a standardised entry point for trading and risk management and controls based on its Secure Financial Transaction Infrastructure network – as well as integrated market data feeds from each participating market – a shortlist of vendors have now been invited to tender for the contract to supply the infrastructure.
NYSE Technologies, the technology arm of global exchanges group NYSE Euronext, and SGX declined to comment any further on the change in NYSE Technology's role in the project. Other exchanges did not return calls.
Depending on the tender, the exchanges hope the link will go live toward the end of 2011.
The ASEAN Trading Link aims to connect the participating markets electronically to facilitate “seamless” cross-border trading. The Indonesia Stock Exchange and Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange have also signed up to participate in the link but will not be involved in the first phase of its roll-out.
Last month, SGX – which is currently engaged in negotiations to merge with the Australian Securities Exchange – confirmed that its new US$195 million trading platform, developed by exchange group Nasdaq OMX, will go live on 15 August 2011.