NSE appoints bankers, with BSE already on the IPO launch ramp – exciting times in India.
Meanwhile Dutch SME warnings over the proposed DB1 acquisition of LSE add to the crescendo of opposition to the merger of equal desperation.
I am briefly on video briefly discussing the forthcoming CEE Capital Markets Awards & CMU summit taking place September 15th in Warsaw. The nominees have just been published too. If you are interested in CMU, you can’t afford to miss the summit while the Gala dinner is the event rewarding CEE listed companies. Prices range from from €295 for the summit, to €595 for the Gala & Summit together. Email me or follow this link HERE to sign up.
Public Markets
Dutch Sound SME Alarm Over LSE/DB1 Deal (subscription)
Samuel Agini – Financial News
The Netherlands has raised fresh concerns over the LSE/DB1 merger on behalf of SMEs
PLY: The DB1-LSE Merger of Equal Desperation has passed the half year mark – 183 days in since February 24 2016 which means we have 168 days on the countdown to a target zone where, hopefully, we can expect EU antitrust to reject this deal.
QV Premium: DB1-LSE Merger Brief.
Big Banks Plan To Coin New Digital Currency (subscription)
Martin Arnold – Financial Times
UBS pioneered the “utility settlement coin” and has now joined forces with Deutsche Bank, Santander and BNY Mellon — as well as the broker ICAP — to pitch the idea to central banks, aiming for its first commercial launch by early 2018.
PLY: To be announced Wednesday…
Analysts Gloomy On HKEX After Shenzhen Link
Kana Nishizawa – Bloomberg
HKEX’s outlook hasn’t improved despite last week’s official announcement of a trading link with Shenzhen.
QV Premium: HKEx – SZSE Stock Connect.
SGX Considers Changes to Minimum Price Rule
Andrea Tan – Bloomberg
Singapore’s rule aimed at curbing speculation started March 1. No new company stocks will be added to the program for now.
Private Markets
BSE Looks To Offload 30% In IPO; NSE Hires Merchant Bankers
Jayshree P. Upadhyay -Livemint
NSE Hires Citi, Morgan Stanley for IPO
Santanu Chakraborty – Bloomberg
NSE appointed (press release) bankers including Citigroup and Morgan Stanley as the nation’s largest bourse prepares to go public early next year.
The NSE also hired JM Financial Institutional Securities and Kotak Mahindra Capital to help sell shares in an IPO. The bourse said it will consider appointing more banks for additional roles.
PLY: After a long wait, finally the process seems to be likely to yield a result with both BSE and NSE closer to IPO than ever before.
CFTC Grants Registration to Seed SEF LLC
CFTC
CFTC issued an Order of Registration to Seed SEF LLC (Seed), of Chicago, Illinois, granting it fully registered status with the CFTC as a SEF.
PLY: That’s a grand total of 22 registered SEFs currently, all of which (plus the pending applications) can be seen on the updated Exchange Invest SEF Page.
Direct Match: Trying To Pull Back From Brink Of Closure
Matt Turner – Business Insider
Direct Match, a Wall Street trading startup focused on the US Treasury market, is exploring strategic options that could include a sale. The firm, which touted itself as the first all-to-all US Treasury trading platform, was launched by Jim Greco and Kristi Neller in late 2014. It raised about $9 million across two different fund-raising rounds in 2015 and early 2016, and it hired William O’Brien, the former CEO of Direct Edge, as Executive Chairman earlier this year.
PLY: Overall Direct Match has not burnt as much as many platforms but it has suffered the same problems of high market entry costs. It is always a pity to see new platforms suffering like this.
Kazakhstan: Making a Tentative Foray Into Digital Money
Eurasianet
Daniyar Akishev, the youthful head of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, earlier this year, revealed that a working group had been created to study what he described as surrogate currencies.
“This is a reality with which we will come up against in the very near future, and ignoring it is not possible,” he said in June.
Special Section: FTI, NSEL, India at the Crossroads
PLY: MCX slightly off, FTIL up 1%.
Technology
MAS Establishes FinTech Innovation Lab
MondoVisione
Monetary Authority Of Singapore (MAS) announced the opening of its FinTech Innovation Lab. The purpose-built facility, known as Looking Glass @ MAS1, is located within the MAS Building.
Dion Global Solutions Delivers New Real Time Prices App For Chi-X Australia
MondoVisione
Dion delivered a new market data app to Chi-X Australia. The Chi-X real time prices app is the first application in Australia to deliver royalty-free, real-time market prices on Australian equities and Chi-X investment products straight to subscriber’s mobiles.
Products
IHS Markit Preps Mifid II Research Tool (subscription)
Financial News
New EU rules are set to shake up the decades-old practice of paying for investment research via trading commissions.
MCX Defers Launch Of New Agri Contracts
Dilip Kumar Jha – Business Standard
Non-agri segment contributes around 98% of the daily average turnover on MCX while agri shares account for the rest.
Thomson Reuters Launches First Asia Apps On Eikon Via App Studio
MondoVisione
Career Paths
Tullett Prebon appointed Rebecca Shelley as Global Head of Corporate Affairs. Rebecca, who joins the firm on September 1st, will report directly to CEO John Phizackerley and becomes a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee.
The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) appointed Douglas Muir as Director of Enforcement effective September 7, 2016.
Ancoa announced the appointments of Hugo Jenkins and John Barker to its Advisory Board.
PLY: An interesting contrast of experience to bring to the Ancoa Advisory Board – congratulations to both John and Hugo who add a vast depth of perspective to help Ancoa as it scales up.
Financial Calendar
02.09 – MOEX EGM
02.09 – Record date Q3 CBOE $0.25 dividend
02.09 – Record date Tullett Prebon 5.6p interim dividend
02.09 – TMX $0.40 dividend payment
All forthcoming exchange / investment related events are now listed in our Events page.
Crowdfunding
UK P2P Platforms Are Benefitting From Government Policies
Business Insider
The UK government launched the Innovative Finance Savings Account (IFISA) in April. It allows UK consumers to invest up to £15,000 ($20,000) in alternative finance platforms and get tax free returns.
Other stories
Abu Dhabi Global Market Establishes UAE Regulatory Collaboration
MondoVisione
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) signed a MoU to strengthen mutual cooperation and collaboration.
SEBI To Focus On Co-Operating With Domestic, Global Regulators
Indian Express
SEBI cooperates and facilitates exchange of information with its counterparts in other jurisdictions for the purpose of regulatory enforcement.
IIROC Releases 2015-2016 Annual Report
MondoVisione
SGX Proposes More Targeted MTP Watch-List Criteria With Market Capitalisation Test
MondoVisione