Sydney Australia

History

The origins of the ASX trace back to the mid-1800s, with the establishment of six separate exchanges in Australia’s major cities: Melbourne (1861), Sydney (1871), Hobart (1882), Brisbane (1884), Adelaide (1887), and Perth (1889). The exchange in Launceston, Tasmania, later merged into the Hobart exchange.

In November 1903, the inaugural interstate conference coincided with the Melbourne Cup. Informal meetings continued until 1937, leading to the formation of the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges (AASE), comprising representatives from each exchange. The AASE gradually implemented standardized listing rules, broker regulations, and commission rates.

Initially, trading operated through a call system, where exchange employees announced company names, and brokers bid or offered. Transitioning in the 1960s, a post system replaced this method. “Chalkies,” exchange employees, continuously wrote bids and offers on blackboards and recorded transactions.

Established in 1987 through Australian Parliament legislation, the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange Limited) resulted from the amalgamation of six independent stock exchanges in state capitals. It pioneered the demutualization process, becoming the world’s first exchange with shares quoted on its own market. The ASX itself was listed on October 14, 1998. Subsequently, on July 7, 2006, it merged with SFE Corporation, the holding company for the Sydney Futures Exchange.

ASX Limited (ASX: ASX), an Australian public company, oversees Australia’s main securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange. Formed in July 2006, it resulted from the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange.

In 2023, ASX boasts an average daily turnover of A$4.685 billion and a market capitalization of approximately A$1.55 trillion, positioning it among the world’s top 15 listed exchange groups. The ASX Group operates two trading platforms: ASX Trade for equity securities and ASX Trade24 for derivative securities trading.