EXCHANGE NEWSWIRE, 22 October 2010

SGX and ASX are in merger discussions with plans for the Singapore bourse to take over its Australian counterpart in an A$6b offer according to sources interviewed by the Financial Times. Trading of shares in both companies were halted pending an announcement release.

SGX and NASDAQ OMX are offering companies dual listing IPO opportunities on both exchanges, which will “bring a wider selection of investment choices to our investors and offer companies access to an enlarged pool of investors”, according to SGX CEO Magnus Bocker.

HKEx: AIG raised US$17.8b in its IPO of its Asian unit AIA on the Hong Kong exchange, the largest IPO in HKEx’s history.

HKEx’s transition to its new trading and market data platforms, AMS/3.8 and MDS/3.8 respectively, is expected to be completed by end 2011, reducing latency to 9 milliseconds, 16 times faster than the current speed.

BVMF3 is considering the creation of a committee to analyze merger and acquisitions according to Patricia Pellini, Head of Regulation.

TSE finished the installation of facilities for its proximity service which will commence on October 25.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) filed charges of US$45,000 against Finansia Syrus Securities (FSS) for violation of compensation regulations.

LCH.Clearnet will launch clearing in an untapped section of IR swaps markets in “the new few weeks”.

TROW reported 3Q10 EPS of $0.64 (+28% y/y) on revenues of $586.1m (+18% y/y). AUM at end September totaled $502.6b (+12% q/q), with net flows of $8b and a market appreciation of $40.6b.

STT: State Street Global Advisors agreed to acquire Bank of Ireland Asset Management for €57m (US$79m). The company expects the acquisition to be slightly accretive to FY10 earning (excluding one-time costs). Greg Ehret, Senior Managing Director, said that STT is looking for buying opportunities and is willing to look at other Irish firms.

CFTC aims to finish proposing new OTC derivatives rules by mid-December, and it may need an additional 400 staff to implement them, according to chairman Gensler.

The Brazilian government banned financial institutions from lending, renting or swapping assets to foreign investors who intend to use the assets for operations in derivative markets, including OTC derivatives.

Provided By: Equity Research Desk, www.erdesk.com