Bolsas de valores: Guerra aberta?
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Bolsas de valores: Guerra aberta?
Stock exchanges
Dutch auction
Mar 4th 2004
From The Economist print edition
Can the LSE snatch Dutch equities trading from Euronext?
THE gloves are off in the fight for supremacy among Europe's big stock exchanges. In the boldest move yet against its two big rivals, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is trying to lure away trading of Dutch equities from one of them, Euronext, a bourse born of a merger of the Belgian, Dutch and French stock exchanges, by aggressively cutting the price of trading in Dutch shares. Amsterdam is the first skirmish in what could become a price war between the LSE, Euronext and Deutsche Börse, Germany's stock exchange.
Competition has become stiffer since all the big European bourses listed themselves in 2001 and started to be run as proper companies. So far, however, none has mounted a direct challenge to any of the others. If the LSE succeeds in snatching trading in Dutch shares, Euronext and Deutsche Börse will have to become more aggressive as well. All this is splendid news for investors: they will benefit from cheaper, more efficient trading.
The Dutch experiment started over a year ago when unhappy Dutch brokers approached the LSE. They were miffed that Euronext, which is run by a Frenchman and based in Paris, was giving privileges to French clients. According to the LSE, Dutch brokers also griped about prices, glitches and customer service.
Still smarting from losing Liffe, London's financial derivatives exchange, to Euronext, the LSE saw an opportunity to steal a march on its rival. It put together an attractive package for the Dutch. Membership of the LSE would be free, and trading costs would be 40% lower than at Euronext. They would even be able to use their existing back-office organisations. The LSE's existing stockbrokers are cross that newcomers have such better terms.
All the London-based Dutch banks, which account for about 40% of trading in Dutch equities, have signed up for the free membership offer that expired on February 27th. More than a dozen stockbrokers in the Netherlands did so too. Attractive though these terms are, Dutch brokers' only real interest may be in using them to get better ones from Euronext: last year, they threatened to pull their options business out of Euronext.
Still, London's move has a better chance of success than previous attempts to grab trading from other exchanges. In 2001, the Swiss stock exchange launched Virt-X, an electronic exchange that it hoped would lure a large share of trading in European shares with cheaper prices. It did not. But as Europe's biggest bourse, the LSE has more clout. Moreover, traders prefer its SETS trading system.
Never before has one electronic share market nabbed most of another one's business. According to Huw van Steenis, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, once a market has become liquid, it is hard for competitors to grab trading from it: electronic order books and economies of scale give the incumbent a strong advantage.
But then none has tried so aggressively as the LSE. Dutch equities are due to start trading in London on May 24th. Benn Steil, an expert on stock exchanges, thinks that Dutch stockbrokers would have to move en masse. Dutch banks deny any such concerted action. Much depends on the aggressiveness of Euronext's reaction.
Fonte: www.economist.com
Um abraço,
MozHawk
Dutch auction
Mar 4th 2004
From The Economist print edition
Can the LSE snatch Dutch equities trading from Euronext?
THE gloves are off in the fight for supremacy among Europe's big stock exchanges. In the boldest move yet against its two big rivals, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is trying to lure away trading of Dutch equities from one of them, Euronext, a bourse born of a merger of the Belgian, Dutch and French stock exchanges, by aggressively cutting the price of trading in Dutch shares. Amsterdam is the first skirmish in what could become a price war between the LSE, Euronext and Deutsche Börse, Germany's stock exchange.
Competition has become stiffer since all the big European bourses listed themselves in 2001 and started to be run as proper companies. So far, however, none has mounted a direct challenge to any of the others. If the LSE succeeds in snatching trading in Dutch shares, Euronext and Deutsche Börse will have to become more aggressive as well. All this is splendid news for investors: they will benefit from cheaper, more efficient trading.
The Dutch experiment started over a year ago when unhappy Dutch brokers approached the LSE. They were miffed that Euronext, which is run by a Frenchman and based in Paris, was giving privileges to French clients. According to the LSE, Dutch brokers also griped about prices, glitches and customer service.
Still smarting from losing Liffe, London's financial derivatives exchange, to Euronext, the LSE saw an opportunity to steal a march on its rival. It put together an attractive package for the Dutch. Membership of the LSE would be free, and trading costs would be 40% lower than at Euronext. They would even be able to use their existing back-office organisations. The LSE's existing stockbrokers are cross that newcomers have such better terms.
All the London-based Dutch banks, which account for about 40% of trading in Dutch equities, have signed up for the free membership offer that expired on February 27th. More than a dozen stockbrokers in the Netherlands did so too. Attractive though these terms are, Dutch brokers' only real interest may be in using them to get better ones from Euronext: last year, they threatened to pull their options business out of Euronext.
Still, London's move has a better chance of success than previous attempts to grab trading from other exchanges. In 2001, the Swiss stock exchange launched Virt-X, an electronic exchange that it hoped would lure a large share of trading in European shares with cheaper prices. It did not. But as Europe's biggest bourse, the LSE has more clout. Moreover, traders prefer its SETS trading system.
Never before has one electronic share market nabbed most of another one's business. According to Huw van Steenis, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, once a market has become liquid, it is hard for competitors to grab trading from it: electronic order books and economies of scale give the incumbent a strong advantage.
But then none has tried so aggressively as the LSE. Dutch equities are due to start trading in London on May 24th. Benn Steil, an expert on stock exchanges, thinks that Dutch stockbrokers would have to move en masse. Dutch banks deny any such concerted action. Much depends on the aggressiveness of Euronext's reaction.
Fonte: www.economist.com
Um abraço,
MozHawk
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