The
London Stock Exchange has said its
Tradelect trading system could save the organisation created by
its proposed merger with
Borsa Italiana
up to £10m in IT costs.
The stock exchange and Borsa Italiana have entered into an
agreement which, if completed, would see the London Stock Exchange
acquire its Italian counterpart for £1.1bn.
"This merger is the most important step yet for Borsa Italiana
and the London Stock Exchange in realising their shared vision to
be the world's capital market," the London Stock Exchange said.
The exchange said it expected to save £20m from the merger -
split equally between IT and non-IT related savings - by 2010.
Tradelect, which went live last month, would also help the
London Stock Exchange integrate additional capabilities which it
will pick up through the Borsa takeover.
"Tradelect was designed so it could host trading in multiple
asset classes such as derivatives bonds and futures, and not just
cash equities," said a spokesman for the London Stock Exchange.
The Tradelect platform can be
easily scaled to service other exchanges by adding servers, the
exchange said. The platform is used on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange, following an agreement in 2001 by the London Stock
Exchange and its South African equivalent to co-operate on
technology and development.
Despite the agreement, the London Stock Exchange does not plan
to sell the platform as a service to others. "Strategically,
Tradelect is a source of competitive advantage and is not a trading
system we will sell commercially," said a
spokesman.
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