NZX picks Nasdaq system for trading platform

Friday 4th May 2012

NZX, the stock exchange operator, said it has chosen technology Nasdaq, the world's largest exchange operator, to power its trading platform.

The new platform, called X-stream, will handle trading of equities and derivatives securities. It will be rolled out at the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter, the Wellington-based exchange said in statement. X-stream is deployed in 22 markets worldwide.

"The NASDAQ OMX trading platform and connectivity suite will set the NZX business, and its markets, up for all foreseeable competitive situations, and allow significant innovation in terms of market design and market offerings," said departing chief executive Mark Weldon. It is "the final piece in NZX’s infrastructure puzzle."

A spokeswoman for the exchange told BusinessDesk the cost of the platform won’t be made public. NASDAQ competed alongside several other participants in a global tender.

On Monday, the stock exchange operator announced it had lifted its first-quarter revenue by 3 percent on increased agricultural data sales. The company’s information markets and infrastructure assets underpinned its quarterly sales of $13.9 million, up from $13.5 million in the same period a year earlier.

This is Weldon's last day before he officially hands over the reins to Tim Bennett. Weldon is leaving after a decade at the helm, driving a strategy to diversify away from stock trading revenue and listings to electricity, agricultural commodities, media and data services.

NZX shares last traded at $2.83 and have gained about 23 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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