Richard Nadeau, Senior Vice President, Toronto Stock Exchange, was keynote speaker today at the Quebec City Chamber of Commerce luncheon. In a far ranging speech, Mr. Nadeau provided an update on the impact that global consolidation was having on the exchange world and how TSX Group was building and enhancing its position.
“We are seeing a race to put in place the fastest, cheapest and highest-capacity trading technologies to meet new and burgeoning global demands. We are seeing exchanges that once confined their activities to one or two types of securities becoming multi-asset trading venues that link equities, derivatives, fixed income securities, commodities.”
TSX Group is equally affected by this phenomenon. In addition to operating Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, TSX has expanded to other asset classes. It operates Natural Gas Exchange (NGX), a leading North American exchange for the trading and clearing of natural gas and electricity contracts and Shorcan Brokers Limited, the country's first fixed income interdealer broker. TSX has partnered with the International Securities Exchange (ISE) to launch DEX, a new derivatives marketplace, scheduled to begin operations in 2009. Recently, TSX Group purchased on option to acquire, in 2009, NetThruPut, a secure internet-based crude oil trading and clearing platform. TSX Group also owns The Equicom Group Inc., a leading provider of investor relations and related corporate communication services in Canada.
He went on to tell Chamber members that TSX Group is an integral part of the growth in cities like Quebec City and its surrounding regions. “Our focus as an exchange group – locally and globally – is on small and medium sized enterprises, promising start-ups that can gain the most benefit from the support we provide. Some of the innovative financing instruments we’ve brought to the Quebec market – such as the CPC (Capital Pool Company®) program – are specifically targeted at companies in the small to medium sized category. Quebec has responded particularly enthusiastically to the CPC program; this unique product is now also being taken up in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces as well.”
TSX has 158 Quebec-based companies with $273.1 Billion in market capitalization. TSX Venture Exchange has 194 Quebec-based companies worth $4.1 Billion market capitalization.
