why Aber?TSX sees no threat from Pure Trading launch
Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:15PM EDT
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Power. Price. Service. No Compromises.By Nicole Mordant
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug 17 (Reuters) - TSX Group Inc. (X.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange and small-cap TSX Venture Exchange, said on Friday it sees no threat to its equity market dominance in Canada from the September launch of a smaller rival trading platform.
Canadian Trading and Quotation System Inc. (CNQ) announced late on Thursday that its Pure Trading subsidiary will kick off operations on Sept. 14, the first of at least three TSX market competitors due to start operations in the next year, promising faster and cheaper trading services.
"It is our belief that we have the technology and product offering to be the primary point of price discovery in Canada," said Thomas Kalafatis, director of sales and trading at TSX Group.
"(Pure Trading) doesn't differentiate itself in any way from what TSX has got," he told reporters speaking on a call from a securities industry conference in Whistler, British Columbia.
Pure Trading will initially offer trades in only three stocks -- Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Aber Diamond Corp. (ABZ.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and iShares CDN S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index Fund (XEG.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), but will add others over time.
"This is the first visible alternative equity market in Canada and is the culmination of an industry wide effort over the course of more than a year," CNQ said in a statement.
It said the Pure Trading system is ready and operational, and testing by vendors and dealers accessing the system has gone well, notwithstanding recent record trading volumes.
CNQ Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Ian Bandeen said 59 dealers, responsible for 95 percent of equity trading in Canada, have signed up to Pure Trading.
TSX Group, a C$2.8 billion ($2.6 billion) company, has responded to the sprouting of competitors by cutting its trading costs, introducing new technology and pushing into new sectors such as derivatives. Continued