ASX Launches Next Generation Trading Platform Powered by NASDAQ OMX's Genium INET

Dec 3, 2010
ASX Launches Next Generation Trading Platform Powered by NASDAQ OMX's Genium INET

Stockholm/Sydney, December 3, 2010 - The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has launched its next generation trading system, ASX Trade, providing the fastest integrated equities and derivatives trading platform in the world.

ASX Trade is powered by NASDAQ OMX's Genium INET platform and combines rich functionality with high reliability, and has delivered significant latency and transaction capacity improvements. The new system is at the forefront of a suite of ASX equity and derivatives markets innovations, tailoring services to users with diverse trade execution needs.

Jeff Olsson, ASX Group Executive Technology, said: "ASX Trade offers market participants a trading experience as fast and efficient as anywhere in the world. It has generated significant performance enhancements: latency today is 100 times faster than it was only two years ago, having been improved from 30 milliseconds in 2008 to 300 microseconds today. The improved latency has been coupled with increased capacity, rising from 20,000 orders per second before the upgrade to 100,000 orders per second now.

"We have been pleased overall with the implementation of the project, following several months of intensive effort and cooperation between ASX, the trading system vendor - NASDAQ OMX - and Australian market participants. Upgrading a combined equities and derivatives platform - like ASX Trade - is the most complex of technology undertakings. But the effort is well worthwhile because of the performance benefits it brings to the Australian marketplace."

Anna Ewing, Chief Information Officer of NASDAQ OMX, said: "With ASX Trade powered by the Genium INET trading platform, NASDAQ OMX continues to provide the best possible trading opportunities for our customers and investors on a global scale. Our development with ASX Trade strengthens NASDAQ OMX's commitment to innovation through technology to ensure our position as a driving force in the exchange industry."

ASX Trade went live on Monday, 29 November 2010 and follows the upgrade of the ASX Trade 24 futures platform on 11 October 2010, ensuring faster and more functional trading options for customers. The new trading systems, combined with ASX's expanded co-location facilities, high bandwidth dark fibre for ASX Net, and new and enlarged data centre (planned for late 2011), strengthen the global competitiveness of the Australian capital market to the benefit of traders, companies and investors alike.

About ASX Group
ASX Group is a multi-asset class, vertically integrated exchange group, and one of the world's top-10 listed exchange groups measured by market capitalisation. ASX's activities span primary and secondary market services, central counterparty risk transfer, and securities settlement for both the equities and fixed income markets. It functions as a market operator, clearing house and payments system facilitator. It oversees compliance with its operating rules, promotes standards of corporate governance among Australia's listed companies and helps to educate retail investors. ASX's diverse domestic and international customer base includes issuers of securities and other financial products, investment and trading banks, fund managers, hedge funds, commodity trading advisers, brokers and proprietary traders, market data vendors and retail investors. By providing its systems, processes and services reliably and fairly, ASX generates confidence in the markets that depend on its infrastructure. This is integral to ASX's long-term commercial success. More information on ASX can be found on www.asxgroup.com.au.

About NASDAQ OMX
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with approximately 3,600 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX Group offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; NASDAQ OMX Nordic, including First North, NASDAQ OMX Baltic and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX Group technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX Group exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit www.nasdaqomx.com. *Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about NASDAQ OMX's products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the FSA will give the NASDAQ OMX applicant the authorization and permissions which it seeks.

Media Contacts:

NASDAQ OMX
Jolene Libretto
+1 646 441 5220
jolene.libretto@nasdaqomx.com

Frank De Maria
+1 212 231 5183
frank.demaria@nasdaqomx.com

ASX
Matthew Gibbs
+61 2 9227 0218
matthew.gibbs@asx.com.au

Leeanne Bland
+61 2 9227 0410
leeanne.bland@asx.com.au/p>