Nikko Salomon Smith Barney and Instinet have won approval from Japan's legal Affairs Bureau to launch a proprietary trading system for institutional equity dealing.
The 50:50 joint venture partners say they will now apply to the Kanto Local Finance Bureau and Financial Services Agency to register the proposed trading entity, JapanCross Securities, as a licensed broker-dealer.
JapanCross Securities intends to operate a crossing network for matching institutional bids and offers. The system will aggregate order flow at specific times and execute periodic matches whilst preserving anonymity say the partners. NSSB is expected to provide a pool of liquidity as the business finds its feet.
The venture initially has been funded with Yen400,000,000. It is expected to begin operations later this year.