Asia

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) have taken another step toward establishing their joint venture TOKYO AIM, a new market for growing companies in Japan and Asia.

Instinet, a global agency-brokerage owned by Nomura Holdings, has secured membership on the ASX Settlement and Transfer Corporation (ASTC), the settlement processing facility of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

TradingScreen, a provider of trading systems and related services, has opened an office in Sydney, Australia.

Electronic trading volumes grew rapidly in Asia between 2004 and 2007, as more exchanges developed and enhanced the functionality of their trading platforms, according to a new report on buy-side execution of securities trades from research and advisory firm Celent.

US equities trading venue Direct Edge will extend the trading hours on its three platforms – EDGA, EDGX and the newly acquired ISE Stock Exchange – in response to international and local client demand.

Investment Technology Group (ITG), an agency brokerage and trading service provider, has launched its commission sharing arrangement (CSA) programme in Asia-Pacific, to help buy-side firms embrace best execution in the region.

The Korea Exchange (KRX) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Laos to create a joint venture that will establish a stock market and supervisory authority in Laos by October 2010.

Global investment bank UBS has launched direct market access on Malaysia’s national stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia.

Transaction Network Services (TNS), a market data and connectivity provider, has added Turquoise, the pan-European trading platform, to its expanding portfolio of trading venues and established a market data connection to the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).

The new CEO of Chi-X Asia-Pacific, Joe Marchal, hopes to establish trading platforms in four new markets in the region before the end of next year.