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As part of the partnership agreement between Euronext N.V., a subsidiary of NYSE Euronext, and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, the two partners announced the creation of a European Economic Interest Group (EEIG) on 21 May 2007. The new EEIG will be based in Luxembourg.
EEIGs were instituted by a European regulation dated 25 July 1985, and are aimed at facilitating or developing the economic operations of their members by pooling resources, activities or skills. This achieves better results than each member acting alone. Because of these features, Euronext N.V. and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange considered an EEIG to be an excellent vehicle for the projects their partnership was set up to achieve, the first being the migration of the Luxembourg Exchange to the NSC® trading platform on 2 May 2007.
This shift to NSC® is the first stage in the technology-exchange programme planned under the partnership agreement. Once the technical framework is in place, the partners will be able to make use of the full range of options offered by the new EEIG to promote LuxNext®, their shared brand, to capital markets and expand operations in corporate bonds, market listings, trading, and sale of market data.
The management teams of Euronext N.V. and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange welcome the creation of the EEIG, which represents a key step in the implementation of the two market operators’ partnership.
NYSE Euronext
NYSE Euronext, a holding company created by the combination of NYSE Group, Inc. and Euronext N.V., commenced trading on April 4, 2007. NYSE Euronext (NYSE Euronext: NYX) operates the world’s largest and most liquid exchange group and offers the most diverse array of financial products and services. NYSE Euronext, which brings together six cash equities exchanges in five countries and six derivatives exchanges in six countries, is a world leader for listings, trading in cash equities, equity and interest rate derivatives, bonds and the distribution of market data. Representing a combined €21.7/$29.6 trillion total market capitalization of listed companies and average daily trading value of approximately €85/$115 billion (as of April 30, 2007), NYSE Euronext seeks to provide the highest standards of market quality and integrity, innovative products and services to investors, issuers, and all users of its markets.
Euronext N.V.
Euronext N.V., a subsidiary of NYSE Euronext, has successfully integrated local markets across Europe to provide users with a unified market that is broad, liquid and cost effective. Euronext is the largest central order book cash market in Europe and the second largest derivatives exchange in the world, by value of business traded.
Following the initial three-way merger of the local exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, Euronext acquired the London-based derivatives market LIFFE and merged with the Portuguese exchange in 2002. Euronext’s unique business model incorporates the individual strengths and assets of each local market and has been implemented on all of Euronext’s markets, covers technological integration, the harmonisation of market rules and the regulatory framework. The implementation of Euronext’s horizontal model designed to generate synergies has proved that the most successful way to merge European exchanges is to apply global vision at a local level. Euronext’s IT integration was completed in 2004, when a four-year migration plan resulted in harmonised IT platforms for cash trading (NSC®) and derivatives (LIFFE CONNECT®). As a result, every market participant now has a single point of access to trading. Euronext’s IT structure was rationalized in 2005 with the creation of Atos Euronext Market Solutions (AEMS), an IT services-related vehicle between Euronext and Atos Origin which is now a leading global provider of technology services to Euronext and other global capital markets.
Luxembourg Stock Exchange
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange began operating as a limited company in 1929, and has since then gained extensive experience in listing and trading of securities from many different regions. Today the Exchange has two markets — regulated and Euro MTF — with 29,000 international bond issues representing 60% of total bonds listed on EU markets. It also lists some 7,000 shares and units of investment funds in around twenty currencies, offering a wide range of investment opportunities, as well as 220 Global Depositary Receipts of issuers based in the developing world.
Market portal www.bourse.lu offers individual investors easy access to market information on Luxembourg securities. This is rounded out by data available at www.cclux.lu, operated by CCLux, a company specialized in Luxembourg investment funds that became a subsidiary of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in May 2002. Data produced by the Exchange and CCLux are also sold to specialized vendors for circulation to market participants via electronic networks.
