This was published 13 years ago
Singapore takeover will not affect regulatory regime: ASIC boss
By Clancy Yeates
THE Australian Securities and Investments Commission has rejected concerns that Singapore's takeover bid for the Australian Stock Exchange could compromise the sharemarket regulatory regime.
In the debate over whether the $8.4 billion merger is in the national interest, some investor groups have expressed concerns that the ASX's regulatory function would be threatened if the company fell into foreign hands.
Under the planned merger, an Australian subsidiary of the merged entity would retain responsibility for compliance, which involves ensuring companies follow listing rules such as those on continuous disclosure.
Appearing before a Senate committee in Canberra yesterday, the ASIC chairman, Tony D'Aloisio, said ownership of the exchange was a separate matter from the regulatory framework.
''ASX continues to perform functions of a regulatory nature around listings and so on, and it continues to operate the Australian stockmarket, so all of those things will continue irrespective of what's happening with the shareholding each day as the market trades,'' Mr D'Aloisio said.
Approval of the takeover was a matter for the government, not the commission, he said.
''From our point of view, our rules will apply across markets irrespective of who comes into the market and who owns whom,'' he said.
Supervision of brokers was transferred last year from the ASX to the commission, but the stock exchange remains responsible for enforcing the listing rules.
The ASX has rejected concerns that the takeover could affect this regulatory role, saying it would remain subject to the same laws regardless of who owned the company.
Asked about any differences between corporate regulations in Australia and Singapore, Mr D'Aloisio said that in ''broad terms'' the two exchanges had a lot of comparable features.
The fate of the $8.4 billion merger ultimately rests in the hands of Federal Parliament, which has to vote on ownership of more than 15 per cent of the ASX by any single investor.