Australian Stock Exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Australian Stock Exchange - Essay Example This is done either to remove risks or to obtain a profit. According to Becket (2012), stock exchange is a public place where a company can sell its shares to investors or where an investor can buy or sell shares to another investor. Australian Stock Exchange is one of such places used for trading stocks. This paper explains an evaluation of this market and discusses the importance of the market to the Australian economy. The Australian Stock Exchange manages all the activities related to trading of shares in Australia. The activities concern both primary and secondary services required by companies and investors in the trading of shares. This includes capital information and hedging, trading and price discovery, risk transfer, and securities settlement (ASX, 2012). This stock exchange has been ranked among the largest in the world in terms of market capitalization. According to Downers and Masci (2003), the Australian Stock Exchange was in the past converted from a mutual organizati on to a company. Due to this, it expanded its regulations and incorporated public interests in its operations. Moreover, it became more accountable to the members of the public. This is because the public is its main owner. One of the major responsibilities of this stock exchange is to distribute necessary information to companies, current shareholders, and potential shareholders. According to Webb and Yu (2004), some of the most crucial information that this company distributes is information about change in shareholding, notices of intended takeovers, and statements of directors’ interests. This information can guide investors in making decisions of whether to trade their stocks or to continue holding them. Moreover, it can guide companies in their decisions to introduce new shares to the markets when seeking funds for expanding. Furthermore, they can guide the company in determining appropriate prices for the shares it intends to introduce in the stock market. Most of this information is conveyed in the form of news articles. However, the Australian Stock Exchange also uses its website to convey information to the public. The information that it conveys through its website ranges from share prices to information on investment education and trading games (Pollard, 2011). This information could also be very crucial to investors, potential investors, and listed companies. The stock exchange coordinates with other stock exchanges of the world – the most important of them are the stock exchanges of the Unites States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, and New Zealand (ASX, 2012). This is because these countries are the Australia’s major trading partners. It organizes the Australian equities to be given exemptions on other foreign equity markets and gives exemptions to foreign equities traded in the Australian equity market. According to Campbell (2008), this stock exchange has offered exemptions to New Zealand equities offered to Australian publi c similar to the ones offered for Australian equities offered in New Zealand. This promotes the flow of capital in and out of this country, which positively affects economic activities in the country. Clear comparison can be drawn between the Australian Stock Exchange and other stock exchanges of the world. This stock exchange is among the most developed ones internationally. As a result, it can be closely compared, for example, with the New York Stock Exchange and