Canadian Trading and Quotation System (CNQ), a new stock market for emerging companies, has launched its trading operations using the Horizon system from Computershare Markets Technology.
The Horizon system - acquired by Computershare with bankrupt Basis100 subsidiary EFA Systems - features a central limit order book and an auction and dealer market to focus available liquidity for active early stage companies. CNQ has also signed an agreement with Computershare for ongoing support services.
Robert Cook, CNQ's president, says the technology was one of the key factors in achieving objectives to meet the special needs of early stage Canadian companies: "Their (Computershare's) flexibility in meeting our requirements for market models and the regulatory demands of the Ontario Securities Commission has ensured the best possible outcome for investors in these companies."
Commenting on the new market, Cook says early stage companies now have a marketplace designed to maximise liquidity, while investors have a market with greater levels of disclosure and high standards of regulatory oversight.
CNQ has adopted the Canadian Universal Market Integrity Rules, with market surveillance and regulatory oversight provided by Canadian Market Regulation Services, the same organisation used by the country's stock exchanges.