Nasdaq eyes Q3 2002 listing, 140 Japan IPO's
(UPDATE: Recasts, adds details througout)
TOKYO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nasdaq aims to take itself public as early as the third quarter of next year, while its Japanese sibling shoots for 140 IPO's -- both as the world's two largest economies sputter in the wake of the September attacks.
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As part of its overarching plan to link Asian, European, and U.S. markets electronically, the Nasdaq also said on Thursday that it aims to have an exchange traded fund (ETF) which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index listed on the Nasdaq Japan market in 2002.
Nasdaq Stock Market Chairman Hardwick Simmons told a news conference they had not changed plans to offer shares in the number-two U.S. exchange to the public in 2002 despite a moribund initial-public offering (IPO) market and slumping earnings.
``We expect (to go public) probably by the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of next year,'' said Simmons.
Nasdaq had in August said the IPO was tentatively planned for mid-2002.
The IPO would make Nasdaq the first publicly traded U.S. stock market. Some European exchanges have already floated, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange has said it planned for a future listing after Japan's top bourse demutualised in November.
Simmons said one of the major preconditions to a public float was the introduction worldwide of its ``Super Montage'' hybrid trading system aimed at boosting liquidity and transparency.
The system should be up and running by the summer of next year in the United States and Europe, with Japan to follow, he said.
Tatsuyuki Saeki, president of Nasdaq Japan Inc, which operates the Nasdaq Japan market in cooperation with the Osaka Securities Exchange, said they also sought a listing after luring more IPO's and shoring up its financial base.
``We too seek a listing somewhere down the road,'' he said.
Saeki said they looked to grab 30 to 35 percent of Japan's IPO market next year, which he predicted would come to about 140 listings by the end of next year.
That compares to the 42 they'll add this year which will bring them to a total of 82 by the close of 2001.
John Hilley, chief executive officer of Nasdaq International, Inc, said the ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100 index, known as ``QQQ'', could be counted on to help attract foreign firms to Japan.
``We hope that that will be the impetus along with the launch of our system (Super Montage) to start bringing some of the Nasdaq and other international companies into the Japanese market,'' said Hilley.
The Nasdaq 100 index is composed of 100 of the largest non-financial securities listed on the U.S. Nasdaq Stock Market.
The ETF could begin trading about three months after a related tax measure receives approval from parliament, Hilley said. Japan's next parliament session is set to begin in late January, with a regular session usually lasting about six months.
Cross-listing products is a step towards a global marketplace for Nasdaq, which said on Thursday it could have Eurpoe, Asia, and the United States linked by the end of 2003.
Both the OSE and the Tokyo Stock Exchange have recently started trading in ETF's, a popular alternative to mutual funds in the United States and a fast-growing investment product in Europe.
Unlike traditional mutual funds, which price once at the end of the day, investors can buy and sell ETF's throughout the day.
In June, the Nasdaq Stock Market announced that Japanese ETF's will trade on the U.S. Nasdaq and on the Nasdaq market in Europe in the future. |
