TSE Demutualization Plan Receives Government Approval

The Toronto Stock Exchange moved a step closer to becoming a for-profit entity, today. The proposal that would allow the Exchange to demutualize passed third reading by the Ontario Legislature, as part of its Budget Bill, and has now received Royal Assent from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The TSE will now file documentation with the Ontario Securities Commission, which must approve the change, and subsequently will seek final approval from the Minister of Finance. The demutualization process is expected to be completed in early 2000. The fully automated Toronto Stock Exchange consistently ranks as one of the world's top exchanges and is Canada's premier market for senior equities. In 1998, more than 26 billion shares traded, worth more than $490 billion - about $2 billion a day in share transactions. With a proud 147-year history at the heart of the Canadian economy, the TSE continues to provide Canadian and international investors with a well-regulated, fair and accessible marketplace.