Finnish telecommunications group Sonera is to add online brokerage services to its ISP-based portal site Sonera Plaza.
Sonera has signed a contract with local software house eQ Online to deliver real-time trading custody and clearing services for domestic share trading by the end of 2001. The service will also offer international stock price information and business news.
The move is part of a revamp of Sonera Plaza's online financial services operation, which is currently provided in association with the Oko bank group.
"We want to offer reliable and secure brokerage as part of a larger package of financial services," says Jan-Peter Rehn, managing director of Sonera Plaza.
Sonera Plaza offers a mix of e-commerce, online banking and media and entertainment services to its 240,000 subscribers. Plaza-branded financial services include current account and payment and card services. The company says that over the coming year it will augment this basic provision with a new raft of services - including sreen-based trading, an online funds supermarket and insurance and credit operations - accessed via a new personal finance channel.