ASX Welcomes Positive ASIC Assessment

The Australian Stock Exchange has welcomed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s finding that ASX is supervising its market to ensure it is fair, orderly and transparent.

In its annual assessment of ASX’s performance of its market licence obligations, ASIC has again concluded that ASX continues to have adequate arrangements for:

• handling conflicts between its commercial interests and the need to ensure that the market operates in a fair, orderly and transparent manner;
• monitoring the conduct of participants in the market; and
• enforcing compliance with its listing rules and market rules.

ASX’s Chief Executive, Tony D’Aloisio said: “This is excellent news and reflects well on ASX’s supervision team under the leadership of Eric Mayne, Group Executive Markets Supervision. It was pleasing to see that ASIC commended their efforts, indeed ASX’s efforts, for substantial and satisfactory progress.

“Not only is this a good result but we can expect further improvements to strengthen market integrity and confidence in our markets as the new supervision arrangements take effect from July 2006. I am also very pleased with the constructive and co-operative way in which ASX and ASIC are working together to improve our markets,” he said.