Fondos.Net - THE SYDNEYSTOCK EXCHANGE

THE SYDNEYSTOCK EXCHANGE

Like many great organizations, the Sydney Stock Exchange (officially called the Sydney Stock Exchange Limited) originally started out as a club of local Sydney business owners and investors in 1872. Within the next 7 years, the Hobart Stock Exchange, the Brisbane Stock Exchange, the Exchange of Melbourne, the Adelaide Stock Exchange and the Perth Stock Exchange were all formed in six states in Australia. The six different stock exchanges operated independently in the state capitals until 1903 when they held their first interstate stock exchange conference in Melbourne. The Perth and Hobart exchanges were the only ones not represented at the interstate conference. Who knew that a small club of businessmen would achieve such success and recognition after such a long while?

17 years after the famous United States stock market crash in 1927, the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges were formed, publishing the first shared stock price index only a year later. In 1947 open-market conditions were re-introduced, but it wasn't until 1987 when the Australian Parliament authorized the union of the six different exchanges located in the six separate state capitals to form the Australian Stock Exchange, more commonly known as the ASX. That same year the Stock Exchange Automated Trading System, or SEATS system, was first implemented. By 1990 all stock listings had been converted to the new SEATS system.

The ASX is a public company whose primary indices are the S&P ASX 200 and the All Ordinaries index. The two exchange ranking so often that more often than not, both indices are usually quoted as one. The S&P listing is composed of the top 200 company shares in the stock exchange.

In 1999, the Sydney Stock Exchange and the stock exchanges in the United States finally joined forces and created something called a "co-listing." What this means is that the Sydney Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Stock Market can operate somewhat like a single exchange and share listings. This gives businesses the opportunity to invest through more than one market. On the same note, ASX is forming business relationships in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and other Asian countries, opening even more doors for Australian enterprises. The ASX has signed agreements with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Exchange, the Singapore Exchange and the Thailand Stock Exchange, allowing them to share listings with those individual exchanges.

The mission of the Sydney Stock Exchange is to "to provide, for the benefit of all participants, the most internationally competitive and fair market for financial securities and derivatives so as to enhance Australia's position as a regional financial center." The Australian Stock Exchange is now the 11th largest stock market in the world. The central offices are located on Bridge Street in Sydney, Australia. The managing director of the ASX, Tony D'Aloisio was appointed in October of 2004, and the ASX is regulated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (more commonly known as ACCC).

FOR LISTINGS AND PRICES VISIT THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE ON THE WEB: www.asx.com/au

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