Merged exchange seeks listings in Paris

The newly formed NYSE Euronext group is to launch a strategy intended to grab lucrative international listings - notably from China and India - from the London Stock Exchange when it starts trading today, senior executives said yesterday.

The campaign is one of two priorities for the new group. The other is to find ways to expand in the US derivatives market, although its chief executive, John Thain, said he did not expect an important acquisition "in the near term".

The joint entity will campaign to persuade companies from fast-expanding Asian countries to list in Paris rather than London if they want to avoid the impact of US regulations.

"If a company is not going to list in the US, we want them to list on Euronext," Mr Thain said.

He said the combination of US and European platforms will help issuers on Euronext to reach US investors while remaining outside its regulatory regime: "We think this combination will help us to compete with London."

He said he hoped international listing candidates would opt to list their shares in New York and Paris. The NYSE Euronext international listing business will now move from New York to Paris, the main business platform for the Euronext side of the merger, to bolster the challenge to London.

The decision highlights worldwide rivalry between the exchanges and the wave of consolidation reshaping the equity trading and derivatives sectors.

Finding ways to expand in the fast-growing derivatives sector, particularly in the US is also a priority. "If you look at our business mix, we are not where we would like to be in the US," Mr Thain said.

He had "not ruled out" the possibility of participating in the current round of deal-making among the Chicago-based derivatives exchanges. However, Mr Thain said NYSE Euronext would be unlikely to make a big acquisition "in the near term" while it coped with the merger's "management challenges".