ASX offers resources expertise
ASX offers resources expertise
The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) will be attending the
Indonesia-Australia Business Council (IABC) Annual Conference in
Bali from June 15 to June 17. It will be offering its services
and the services of the Australian financial services industry
more generally, to assist the development of Indonesia's mineral
resources.
The ASX is a world leader in the value of resources stocks
that it lists -- they represent nearly a third of its total
market -- as well as a resources-specialized segment of the
financial services industry and of associated areas such as legal
and accounting services and has grown to support this
concentration of companies.
The idea is that Australia's expertise in capital-raising for
resources projects as well as tightly regulating the disclosure
of information by resources companies, ideally complements the
wealth of yet-to-be developed resources in Indonesia; at least
until significant resources sectors develop on the Jakarta Stock
Exchange and the Surabaya Stock Exchange.
The three exchanges are already developing a close
relationship, having signed earlier this year memorandums of
understanding on cooperation.
These agreements, and the ASX's interest in assisting the
development of a resources sector in Indonesia's stock market,
underline its belief that regional cooperation is the best way of
dealing with the competitive threats from much larger economies
posed by the globalization of financial markets.
The Australian stock market is one of the dozen largest
national markets in the world, yet it represents less than 2
percent of the Morgan Stanley Capital International world stock
market index. The whole Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, is
less than 6 percent.
The ASX's Chairman, Maurice Newman, who is to attend the
conference, makes the point that in such a situation, it is
necessary to moderate the natural competition between stock
markets in the region with a degree of cooperation. Perhaps
leading, one day, to a "virtual market", providing mutual access
between regional stock exchanges.