Andean Exchanges Coagulate

The stock exchanges of Peru, Chile and Colombia have agreed to discuss the integration their equity markets in a bid to increase their relevance amidst consolidation of liquidity in the region and a looming threat from the BM&FBovespa, which has become among the largest exchanges by market cap globally. The Andean bourses pledge to remain independent entities with separate platforms and rules governing listing and clearing, but will allow issuers of partner exchanges to list shares on their domestic platform, thereby increasing companies’ access to regional investors. “The exchanges’ strategic objective is to increase the liquidity of their markets over time,” says Roberto Hoyle, president of the Lima exchange, in a statement. He adds that later on, the exchanges’ fixed income markets would also be integrated.