With ICEX's purchase of the SMARTS surveillance system and support services, the Oslo Börs has concluded agreements with all the NOREX exchanges. Agreements were signed with Stockholmsbörsen in December 2001 and with the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in February this year. ICEX will implement the system in the first quarter of 2003.
"This is a significant step for both ICEX and the NOREX Alliance. Now all NOREX exchanges will use the same surveillance system. There is no doubt in my mind that this move places NOREX at the forefront of surveillance of securities trading. The SMARTS system enables ICEX to substantially strengthen its surveillance of trading on the market. This will, in turn, result in increasing the trust and confidence of investors," said Thordur Fridjonsson, ICEX President and CEO, following the signing of the agreement in Oslo yesterday.
ObSurveX is service provided by Oslo Børs which is based on the Australian SMARTS surveillance system and supporting services. In brief, the SMARTS system enables exchanges to monitor trading in real time. It has programmed alerts which draw the attention to any unusual movements in the SAXESS trading system. SMARTS is among the most advanced surveillance systems currently available. The system makes it possible to monitor and analyse trading in a manner which is impossible for ICEX personnel today. Oslo Børs has made significant progress in matters of surveillance since it introduced SMARTS three years ago. In the wake of its introduction there has been an apparent increase in investor confidence on the Norwegian market.
NOREX is the strategic alliance between the stock exchanges in Copenhagen, Iceland, Oslo and Stockholm. The NOREX exchanges all use a common trading system, SAXESS
