(Bloomberg) — A Swedish company has won the contract to operate the trading technology for Australias main stock exchange, displacing Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.
ASX Ltd. has selected Stockholm-based Cinnober Financial Technology AB to run its equity and derivatives trading, it said in a statement Thursday. Cinnobers systems will replace a stock-trading platform provided by Nasdaq and a futures venue developed in-house by the Australian securities exchange. The upgrade will take place over the next 18 to 24 months.
Companies including Nasdaq and Deutsche Boerse AG sell technology to supplement their earnings from running exchanges, but Cinnober doesnt have its own venue and only generates income from selling systems to others. Market operators have increasingly sought additional sources of income as their profit from equity trading has declined.
Nasdaq still provides ASX with the technology for clearing and settlement — the processes that take place after a trade is executed, Ryan Wells, a spokesman at the company, said in an e- mail. Nasdaq counts Japan Exchange Group Inc. and Singapore Exchange Ltd. among its customers in Asia. Deutsche Boerse also bid to run ASXs equity and derivatives platforms, people familiar with the matter said.
Winning ASX in fierce competition is a terrific way to kick off the year, Veronica Augustsson, Cinnober CEO, said in a statement. ASX presents us with yet another challenging technology project at one of the largest exchanges in the world.
Stock Exchange of Thailand already uses the Swedish companys platform. Cinnober has also sold software to Brazils BM&FBovespa SA, Deutsche Boerse and Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange.
ASX lists companies with a market capitalization of about $1.5 trillion, the company says on its website. Its $47 trillion interest-rate derivatives market is Asias biggest.
