Technology stock exchange launched in Australia

SYDNEY, March 26 (Reuters) - A new Australian stock exchange, aiming to emulate the U.S. Nasdaq index with a focus on technology and innovation stocks, was launched on Wednesday with plans to become fully operational by the second half of 2008.

The Asia Pacific Technology Exchange (APTEX) is a joint venture between the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) (NSX.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which holds two stock exchange licenses in Australia, and Enterprise Pacific Ltd, a non-profit company.

Based in Sydney, the venture plans to start with a minimum of 20 listed companies and hopes to draw interest from across Asia.

Chairman of Enterprise Pacific, Geoff Mullins, said the new exchange expected to have 200-300 companies listed within its first two or three years of operation, but would not give an estimate on likely future turnover.

Mullins said he was not concerned about liquidity on the new exchange, which has been a problem for earlier attempts to establish exchanges in Australia, because of support from brokers and from connections being forged in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We are absolutely certain that this is underway. We have stakeholders signing up, we have companies signing up and we are ready to go," he said.

NSX had held discussions with stock exchanges in Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Fiji for their possible participation in an integrated Asia Pacific trading board, Mullins said.

Inquiries had also been received from companies in Taiwan and Korea to list on APTEX, and it was possible five of the first 20 companies on the exchange could be Asian.

Mullins estimated the total market capitalisation of companies listed on the exchange to initially be between A$350 million and A$650 million ($321-$596 million).