HKEx And Wilco International Announce New Outsourcing Service

HKEx And Wilco International Announce New Outsourcing Service Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited (HKEx) and Wilco International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP) today announced that they have agreed to form a joint venture to provide securities markets' transaction processing services. (The amount of investment by HKEx in the joint venture is not such as to constitute a notifiable transaction under the Listing Rules of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.)

The joint venture will provide Brokers' Electronic Support Services (BESS) to HKEx's Stock Exchange Participants. BESS will facilitate seamless straight-through transaction processing (STP).

"HKEx is pleased to partner with ADP Wilco to offer our Stock Exchange Participants an opportunity to outsource their back office IT processing to a centralised service bureau. BESS will bring greater operational efficiency to market participants through its superior processing capabilities. Furthermore, the cross-border capability of BESS will also help our Participants to provide better and more streamlined service to their domestic and overseas clients," said Mr Kwong Ki-chi, Chief Executive of HKEx.

"Our investment in the joint venture underscores HKEx's commitment in strengthening Hong Kong's position as a leading full-service market in Asia," said Mr Kwong.

John Hogan, Co-President of ADP Brokerage Services Group said: "The Hong Kong market is viewed by the financial community as a premier securities market and gateway for global cross border transactions. ADP Wilco is very pleased to partner with HKEx and further extend our global processing capabilities to their market participants."

The joint venture will use Wilco's market leading trade processing and settlement solution called Gloss to allow brokers to outsource their IT processing platform to the centralised service bureau.

The joint venture will initially provide Gloss functionality for the real-time processing of both equity and fixed income securities for the Asian and international markets. Gloss will capture executed trades and provide comprehensive functionality for clearing, settlement and accounting for brokers.

"We are delighted to be embarking on this new relationship with HKEx, which we believe will bring tangible benefits to the market as a whole," said Jessie Pak, Managing Director, Wilco International Asia Pacific.

Wilco, and its parent ADP are leading suppliers of global securities processing, settlement and clearing outsourcing services. The new venture advances their global strategy to supply outsourcing services across the world's major financial markets.