US stock market chief still backs world exchange

The American stock market chief, Mr Frank Zarb, likes to talk about the world of markets and exchanges as a game with players, winners and losers. In the game of chess in Europe's markets this week, his next move is the one to watch.

As chairman and chief executive of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), Mr Zarb played an important role in iX, the proposed exchange merger between the London and Frankfurt exchanges which fell apart spectacularly this week.

When the London Stock Exchange chairman, Mr Don Cruickshank, decided to call off the unpopular merger, he phoned Mr Zarb. The Deutsche Borse head, Mr Werner Seifert, rang him soon after.

Sitting in his Washington office as these events unfolded, Mr Zarb said he would continue to "watch and listen" to developments across the Atlantic.

He stressed that he wanted to keep an "open line" of communication for all the players in this fast changing game. "When the time comes and we see the right path, we will move, and move aggressively and firmly," he said. "But there are still some shoes to drop."

No matter how the game develops over the coming weeks, the stakes for the 65-year-old Mr Zarb are high, given his vision of a seamless, 24-hour trading platform where the world's investors can buy and sell shares in any company, anywhere and at any time.

For example, a Japanese investor could have a cup of coffee at Starbucks in Tokyo and buy the US company's shares on Nasdaq, the technology-driven index owned by the NASD.

Technology, globalisation and economic development have made this brave new world possible since Mr Zarb started at the NASD four years ago. But the full weight of history and national regulations continue to throw up barriers.

The partnership with London and Frankfurt was to provide the Nasdaq with a European trading platform to complement its US and Asian operations.

The exchange had already announced the launch of Nasdaq Europe in alliance with multinationals Vivendi and News Corporation when the exchanges came calling earlier this year. Mr Zarb, a veteran dealmaker, is philosophical about the recent turn of events. He describes the decision to join iX as: "The Germans and the Brits came to us and said, `would you like to join our game?'."

Things are now in a state of flux created by the decision of OM Gruppen, the "upstart" Swedish exchange, to launch a hostile bid for the LSE. The LSE blamed the need to oppose this unsolicited approach for jettisoning the iX deal.

Mr Zarb calls OM "a good company, bright, ambitious and with vision". Yet he evidently harbours doubts about its recent involvement. "Having technology and a platform is very important. But simply setting up a platform and inviting everyone to come and play on that platform is not enough."

OM's actions have put alliances in Europe up for grabs again. For the next few weeks at least, Mr Zarb seems content to watch how events unfold. "We know what we want to do and we don't need to dominate or threaten anybody," he says.

"We need good partners and we want to create a global marketplace that serves various economies."

Mr Zarb has been accused of only offering the Nasdaq brand name in return for access to Europe's entrepreneurs. But he says that the iX deal was a "fair" one. "We brought a lot to the table, including the fact that we're an initial public offer (IPO) engine," he says, referring to the number of company flotations on the US exchange.

Mr Zarb does believe that the company should eventually be listed, and he has taken steps for this to happen. Earlier this year the brokers and dealers who make up the association's membership voted to split the regulatory NASD from the market itself and turn the latter into a for-profit business.

Before the end of this year, the exchange hopes to raise some $1.2 billion (#1.39 billion) in a secondary share offering to finance capital investments and acquisitions.

Such a sum could easily be used to grab the LSE - something insiders believe the Nasdaq is unlikely to do unless access to European mainland exchanges is included as part of the package.

Market observers believe that the exchange's bid for listing underpins Mr Zarb's desire to create a global partnership. This argument suggests that the IPO of a company with deals in Europe as well as Asia would be easier to pull off.