ASX Managing Director and CEO Richard Humphry said the initiative, contained in the CLERP 9 legislative package announced yesterday, would become a valuable tool in support of the Australian market's successful system of market supervision.
"ASX has strongly and publicly supported the provision of this power from the beginning and we believe this initiative will give ASIC a flexibility the current system lacks," Mr Humphry said.
"It is important to note that the enhanced enforcement regime will be applied in association with ASX - once more highlighting the value of the co-regulatory nature of our system of market supervision.
"Continuous disclosure, the requirement that listed companies make timely disclosure of material information, lies at the heart of our market's reputation of high integrity. Effective enforcement is a vital component of market integrity and ASX believes this additional power will complement and strengthen our successful supervision system."