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To: SuperValu who wrote (44833)	4/26/2000 11:19:00 PM
From: Jim Bishop	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 150070

Did you see this news? A Canadian Nasdaq! canoe.ca Bouchard announces Nasdaq partnership By ALLAN SWIFT -- The Canadian Press MONTREAL (CP) -- Canada is going to have its own branch of the U.S-based Nasdaq stock market, starting in Montreal, but Quebec's premier says it won't challenge the Toronto Stock Exchange's dominance of Canadian capital markets. Lucien Bouchard made the surprise announcement in New York late Wednesday afternoon, flanked by Nasdaq executives. It wasn't immediately apparent how the deal squares with last year's restructuring of Canadian financial markets which confirmed the TSE as the country's dominant exchange, with trading of all senior companies. The deal also appeared to inject nationalist politics into Canadian financial markets, as the Quebec government looks to create a separate exchange and flex the province's financial muscle. While Nasdaq intends to expand its presence to Toronto and elsewhere in Canada, the announcement was clearly a coup for the Quebec government, stung by the restructuring under which nearly all stock trading on the Montreal Exchange moved to the TSE or the western-based Canadian Venture Exchange. However, Bouchard said the Nasdaq will not jeopardize Toronto's position and will merely give more options to Canadian companies looking for capital. "I don't see any negative impact," the premier said. "To the contrary, it will enhance the Canadian economy. This is truly a great day for Quebec and for Canada." Barbara Stymiest, the Toronto exchange's chief executive, said the Nasdaq-Quebec arrangement "comes as no surprise to the TSE." She added in a brief statement: "We welcome this initiative that has clearly set a precedent -- raising the issue of reciprocal access for U.S. investors into the Canadian market. The TSE intends to press forward to gain equal opportunity within the U.S. market." Stymiest also said Quebec's deal does not prevent the TSE from reaching its own agreement with Nasdaq. In Vancouver, CDNX chief executive Bill Hess said the Quebec arrangement has no implications for the small-company market. "We're a junior stock exchange and act as a farm team for senior exchanges, and Nasdaq is clearly a senior exchange," Hess said. "It's one more place for our graduates to go." Bouchard said Nasdaq and the Quebec government are aiming to "provide Quebec and Canadian companies with better access to huge pools of capital, and provide investors with the opportunity to trade as many securities as possible at the best price." Frank Zarb, chief executive of the National Association of Securities Dealers, parent of the Nasdaq Stock Market, said: "We are in conversations with Toronto and are moving in a common direction. "But Montreal was ready and we decided it was time to go ahead," he said, noting the support it got from the Quebec government. Bouchard said Quebec will move quickly to pass legislation enabling the electronic network to set up shop in Montreal. In the first phase planned for this summer, terminals will be available for stock dealers in Montreal, making trades on Nasdaq securities in U.S. dollars. A second phase is to establish a Canadian market on the Nasdaq trading platform by March 2001. Nasdaq's third phase will be to link the Canadian market with other Nasdaq markets. It expects to begin trading this summer on Nasdaq Japan in Tokyo. With the largest trading volume among North American stock markets, Nasdaq wants to be the first to establish a global continuous trading exchange. "What this is all about is creating a community of exchanges that builds economies and creates jobs," Zarb said. Montreal independent broker Dominik Dlouhy, who opposed the loss of equity trading on the Montreal Exchange, welcomed the initiative, saying it will make it easier for emerging Quebec companies to list on Nasdaq and have access to a huge capital base. "It's also going to help Canadian companies be more visible to investors in the United States and Tokyo." He said it will be complementary to the Montreal Exchange, which now focuses on trading options and futures, and the Canadian Venture Exchange. Not everyone was sure about this. "What does that do to the agreement that the stock exchanges in Canada arrived at some time ago?" wondered Fred Ketchen, head of equities trading at ScotiaMcLeod and a former TSE chairman. "More than Quebec companies are going to benefit from this," he said. "From what I understand, after a certain date Nasdaq would gladly list any (Canadian) company on their market." Many Canadian corporations would find a Nasdaq listing much more attractive than being on a Canadian exchange, Ketchen added, "because you're going to get the dissemination of your information and be marketed more broadly than you might be under the present situation." At the Canadian Venture Exchange, which is planning to set up a Quebec office, Hess said there was no consultation between Quebec and the CDNX on the province's Nasdaq move. "I'd only heard rumours about it." The Ontario Securities Commission also was not part of the process. "I'm not sure why they would consult with us," said Frank Switzer, the OSC's manager of corporate relations. "It's a commercial decision by Nasdaq." He added: "I think it's fairly common knowledge that they've had discussions with the TSE, and our alternative trading systems proposal gives them even more options if they were considering coming to Ontario, but I guess they've made some sort of commercial decision to locate in Quebec." Of about 5,000 securities listed on the Nasdaq electronic market, 129 are Canadian-based, and of these 18 are Quebec companies. Zarb said Canadian firms have raised $1.1 billion US in capital on the Nasdaq market.