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Three Australian lawmakers said they’ll oppose a takeover of the country’s stock exchange by Singapore’s bourse, meaning Treasurer Wayne Swan would need the opposition’s support to win parliamentary approval for the plan.
Greens Party member Adam Bandt, Western Australian Nationals Tony Crook and independent Andrew Wilkie today joined independent Bob Katter in opposing the proposed tie-up between ASX and Singapore Exchange. The minority Labor government, which hasn’t decided its stance on the deal, needs the support of four legislators outside its ranks to pass laws.
Greens Party member Adam Bandt, Western Australian Nationals Tony Crook and independent Andrew Wilkie today joined independent Bob Katter in opposing the proposed tie-up between ASX and Singapore Exchange. The minority Labor government, which hasn’t decided its stance on the deal, needs the support of four legislators outside its ranks to pass laws.
“I would not support any move to sell the Australian Stock Exchange to Singapore or to interests in Singapore,” Wilkie told reporters in Canberra today. “The Australian Stock Exchange is just too fundamentally important to our economy and to our sovereignty.”
The Foreign Investment Review Board will assess the merger and has as many as 120 days to make a recommendation to Swan. The value of Singapore Exchange’s cash-and-stock offer for its Australian rival was the equivalent of A$46.23 for each ASX share, or a total of A$8.1 billion ($10.3 billion), based on closing prices in Singapore yesterday.
Singapore Exchange shares today climbed 1.1% to S$8.94 at 9:19 a.m. in the city state. ASX stock rose 1.9% to A$38 at 12:19 p.m. in Sydney, below the value of the takeover bid.
To approve the takeover, Swan would need to introduce a regulation to Parliament lifting the 15% ownership cap on the ASX stipulated in Australia’s Corporations Act.
SELLING EVERYTHING
“I think it would be a mistake to sell the Australian Stock Exchange,” Tony Crook, a member of the Nationals who calls himself an independent, told reporters in Canberra. “We are of a mind to sell everything of late, I think the Australian Stock Exchange is fundamentally Australian and it should stay here.”
The proposed merger will face scrutiny from foreign investment regulators, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Swan said yesterday.
“Decisions that I take are decisions that maximize the economic prosperity,” Swan told reporters in Canberra. “The Foreign Investment Review Board will talk to other regulators and I will make a decision.”
It is not in Australia’s national interest “to have our stock exchange part owned by the Singapore government,” Bandt told reporters in Canberra today.
