ASX deal will drive growth, says SGX chief Bocker By Sarah-Jane Tasker

 THE Singapore Exchange has stepped up its push to take over the Australian Securities Exchange, with SGX head Magnus Bocker arguing that locally listed companies will gain access to new funding options and get support to expand.

SGX chief executive Magnus Bocker, left, and ASX chief executive Robert Elstone Source: The Australian

 Mr Bocker, in Australia to promote the $8.4 billion deal, said companies listed in Australia were becoming more globally diversified and would have the opportunity to grow further if the takeover succeeded.

 "For many of the Australian-listed companies, they will grow out of Australia and will become more and more multinational and global companies," Mr Bocker said.

 "Over time, they need to find money for their growth, either in Australia or outside. We, as operators of exchanges, want to follow those companies. The ASX, which is one of the absolutely best exchanges in the world, needs to be given the opportunity to follow a lot of the successful Australian companies around."

 The benefits were not confined to Australia. Mr Bocker said the region's vibrant mining and banking sectors would help SGX to compete with Hong Kong.

 "There is a very strong mining sector here, which is not some of our strength in Singapore," he said. "Bringing that together, I think, will be stronger. The banks here are very, very good and they are very attractive to investors. If we can bring them closer to the Asian market, I think it will help us to get new listings in the future."

 Despite having held more than 300 meetings discussing the bid since it was launched on October 25, Mr Bocker said he had not focused on lobbying Canberra, instead leaving the ASX to talk to local politicians.

 The deal has faced political opposition and still needs the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

 Mr Bocker said he was focused on getting the support of investors and listed companies.

 Any decision will need parliamentary approval and, despite concerns raised from the opposition, independent Rob Oakeshott has supported the deal. He said the government should welcome foreign capital.

"I trust that politicians will make the right decision, and the right judgment on what we come up with," Mr Bocker told ABC's Inside Business yesterday.

 In a move to start addressing some of the nationalist concerns, the deal was slightly altered last month to ensure the board composition of the combined group had equal representation from Australian and Singaporean nationals. Mr Bocker said the changes were made following meetings with large investors who had outlined their expectations of the combined group, but it was also directed at appeasing regulatory concerns.

 "We changed the commitments to invest more money into the Australian financial markets; we committed about fees, about clearing, about new products."

 Mr Bocker expected trading fees in Singapore, which were now higher than Australia, to fall.

 "Trading fees in Australia are much higher than in the US and the fees in Singapore are the lowest in Asia, so we can have a long debate about what is driving what. I think all markets are local when it comes to fees; it is the cost of trading and the cost of raising capital. I think that the only way it will go is continue down."

©theaustralian.com.au

The Economic Growth of Singapore: Trade and Development in the Twentieth Century By W. G. Huff Cambridge University Press