New ASX boss wants to accelerate move to one-day settlement in Australia

By Reuters News

By Scott Murdoch and Christine Chen

SYDNEY, Oct 14 (Reuters) - New ASX ASX.AX CEO Anthony Attia said he wants to expedite the transition to one-day cash equity trading settlement, bringing Australia in line with the United States as well as European and Hong Kong exchanges which plan the move next year.

The ASX considered shifting to trading plus 1 days from T+2 in 2024 but shelved the idea after market participants said it was more important the ASX bed down a A$445 million technology overhaul after a series of outages.

The final upgrade of the clearing and settlement system known as CHESS is not due to be finished until 2029, but Attia said a faster settlement period could be introduced before then.

"I think it's too late. So I'm very willing to engage with the market to bring that forward," Attia said in an interview on Wednesday.

He said he plans to start consulting with regulators and market participants on expediting the introduction of T+1.

The US has had T+1 for two years and the London and Euronext exchanges plan on implementing the change in October next year. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange said it plans to move to T+1 in the fourth quarter of 2027.

Australia's cash equity trades have settled on a two-day cycle in CHESS since 2016.

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