ASX leadership & LKY: Both agree that Australia is home to “poor white trash of Asia"
Australians have already it seems become the poor white trash of Asia, just as Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore predicted in the 80s’. This at least seems to be the opinion of the ASX ‘s leadership, led by its chairman David Gonski who, if believed, must lead Australians to the conclusion that they lack what it takes to build wealth.
In promoting the SGX Ltd takeover of ASX Ltd, Gonski and his team at the ASX argued that unless ASX got taken over by SGX and led by its management, Australia would become an investment backwater. Meanwhile , ASX management has not seem to have done anything to integrate the Australian stock exchange into Asia’s capital markets. Apart from the cursory roadshows which tell market participants what they already know, little appears to have been done to improve ties with the very Asians ASX wants to join. For example, while much has been said about the need to integrate into Asian trading platforms, ASX appears not to have been interested in the ASEAN Exchange Link.
Gonski justified the SGX -ASX takeover saying:
"The step we are making is very logical," he said. "The concept that this will be very bad for Australia as a financial hub is the other way around."If we don't realise that we must embrace Southeast Asia as part of what we are doing, and be involved with them, if we don't take that step, we take the risk of being marginalised."
(http://m.theaustralian.com.au/AustralianFinancialMarkets/pg/1/fi224802.htm)
However, Gonski and ASX management seem to have completely ignored current efforts by South East Asian exchanges to integrate their systems with the objective of forming a single ASEAN Stock Exchange. Malaysia,Singapore and Thailand have already announced that they will commence the process of linkage by the second half of 2011.The Philippines Stock Exchange is expected to join in the first half of 2012.
(http://tinyurl.com/3dlrpjm)
It does appear as if Gonski and his team at the ASX were uninterested if not unable to participate in the discussions that took place between ASEAN stock exchange CEOs and their respective finance ministers. This is surprising given the extent and history of Australian economic,political and defence engagement in the ASEAN region. Contrary to Gonski’s assertions that “we don't realise that we must embrace Southeast Asia”, there has been plenty going on between Australia and South East Asia at personal , business and governmental levels for a very long time. It does appear that Gonski and ASX are unaware of this fact.
Accessing Asia’s savings was another argument trotted out by Team Gonski to justify the takeover. Here again ASX management seemed ignorant of the fact that Australia is already a destination of choice of Asia’s private and institutional investors. There is no evidence that the flow of these funds will accelerate simply because the ASX becomes a subsidiary of the SGX. Even Singapore’s savings, held mainly in its Central Provident Fund, cannot be more readily accessed. These are lent the Singapore Government via the issuance of Singapore Government Securities and are invested by Singapore’s sovereign funds or government linked companies. Gonski becoming deputy chairman of the merged SGX-ASX will not change that fact.
While Gonski is highly regarded in Australia, north of Darwin his name counts for nothing. If as he says " we take the risk of being marginalised" , then clearly he is the wrong man to lead the ASX. It is time for him and the team he leads to go.
END
In promoting the SGX Ltd takeover of ASX Ltd, Gonski and his team at the ASX argued that unless ASX got taken over by SGX and led by its management, Australia would become an investment backwater. Meanwhile , ASX management has not seem to have done anything to integrate the Australian stock exchange into Asia’s capital markets. Apart from the cursory roadshows which tell market participants what they already know, little appears to have been done to improve ties with the very Asians ASX wants to join. For example, while much has been said about the need to integrate into Asian trading platforms, ASX appears not to have been interested in the ASEAN Exchange Link.
Gonski justified the SGX -ASX takeover saying:
"The step we are making is very logical," he said. "The concept that this will be very bad for Australia as a financial hub is the other way around."If we don't realise that we must embrace Southeast Asia as part of what we are doing, and be involved with them, if we don't take that step, we take the risk of being marginalised."
(http://m.theaustralian.com.au/AustralianFinancialMarkets/pg/1/fi224802.htm)
However, Gonski and ASX management seem to have completely ignored current efforts by South East Asian exchanges to integrate their systems with the objective of forming a single ASEAN Stock Exchange. Malaysia,Singapore and Thailand have already announced that they will commence the process of linkage by the second half of 2011.The Philippines Stock Exchange is expected to join in the first half of 2012.
(http://tinyurl.com/3dlrpjm)
It does appear as if Gonski and his team at the ASX were uninterested if not unable to participate in the discussions that took place between ASEAN stock exchange CEOs and their respective finance ministers. This is surprising given the extent and history of Australian economic,political and defence engagement in the ASEAN region. Contrary to Gonski’s assertions that “we don't realise that we must embrace Southeast Asia”, there has been plenty going on between Australia and South East Asia at personal , business and governmental levels for a very long time. It does appear that Gonski and ASX are unaware of this fact.
Accessing Asia’s savings was another argument trotted out by Team Gonski to justify the takeover. Here again ASX management seemed ignorant of the fact that Australia is already a destination of choice of Asia’s private and institutional investors. There is no evidence that the flow of these funds will accelerate simply because the ASX becomes a subsidiary of the SGX. Even Singapore’s savings, held mainly in its Central Provident Fund, cannot be more readily accessed. These are lent the Singapore Government via the issuance of Singapore Government Securities and are invested by Singapore’s sovereign funds or government linked companies. Gonski becoming deputy chairman of the merged SGX-ASX will not change that fact.
While Gonski is highly regarded in Australia, north of Darwin his name counts for nothing. If as he says " we take the risk of being marginalised" , then clearly he is the wrong man to lead the ASX. It is time for him and the team he leads to go.
END
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