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Alternative marketplaces continue to launch in Canada but it is TSX Group’s own NEX market that is showing the fastest trading growth of any of these marketplaces.
According to current TSX Group trading data during Q1 2008, NEX activity has recently grown to over 2.6 million shares a day. That’s up from the Q4 2007 daily average of 1.3 million shares – and accounts for a growth of 100 percent.
NEX is separate board of TSX Venture Exchange. It provides an alternative trading forum for listed companies that have fallen below TSX and TSX Venture Exchange's ongoing listing standards, which otherwise would no longer be eligible to trade on a TSX Group exchange or seek listing on a competitive Canadian exchange.
Comparatively, CNQ’s average trading volume is at 1.5 million shares per day. As a percentage of overall Canadian trading, NEX’s market share by volume is also greater than each of the competitive Alternative Trading Systems operating in Canada including Pure, Chi-X, CNQ, Triact, Liquidnet, and Blockbook for the month of February.
“NEX meets the needs of the investor community for those trading this segment of issuers and its trading structure was designed with customer needs in mind,” said Thomas Kalafatis, Vice-President, Sales and Trading with TSX Markets. “Our most recent changes to NEX streamlined the fee structure to be in-line with a volume based trading fee model, like the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange. The lower rate per share for NEX trading fee reflects smaller market cap of issuers. This fee structure has aided in adding liquidity. We continue to believe that TSX focus on the specific needs of customers will reinforce the growth of markets and address competitive forces. We are excited at continuing to develop new products for the marketplace.”
NEX companies benefit from the support and visibility provided by a listing and trading environment tailored to their needs, while the profile and reputation of TSX Venture Exchange companies will be enhanced as a result of the overall improved quality of the main TSX Venture Exchange stock list.
