LSE signs Johannesburg exchange to MillenniumIT

LSE signs Johannesburg exchange to MillenniumIT

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has licensed the MillenniumIT technology platform from the LSE as it bids to cut transaction times and attract high-frequency traders.

The JSE will migrate during the first half of next year from TradElect, another LSE system which itself was a replacement for the London bourse's Sets.

The new platform will increase volume and therefore liquidity, claims the LSE, while enabling JSE members to execute transactions almost 400 times faster than the present system.

Leanne Parsons, COO, JSE, says: "There is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that when exchanges increase their trading speeds they also boost levels of high frequency trading. This is important in order to deepen a market."

Under the previous agreement, the LSE maintained and operated the platform for its South African customer but this time the JSE will take over responsibility. This is designed to increase operational stability and remove the risk of problems with international connectivity links, an issue that caused a major outage in 2008.

The move also opens up a new revenue stream for the JSE, enabling it to offer members co-location services.

The LSE acquired Sri Lanka vendor MillenniumIT for around £18 million in 2009 and hopes the tech arm will provide a lucrative new revenue stream, following in the footsteps of Nasdaq OMX and Nyse Euronext.

Its own migration to the system has not been smooth, with the main markets move delayed to 14 February after problems with the transition of Turquoise in November.

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