StockMarketWire.com – London Stock Exchange (LSE) Chairman, Chris Gibson-Smith said that its AGM marked its tenth anniversary of its listing as a public company.

He said that in that time the share price had nearly trebled, the LSE had paid about 150p in ordinary dividends per share and returned nearly £1bn. to shareholders by way of buy backs, special dividends and other returns.

He also commented that the last twelve months have seen a renewed focus on the future of exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange Group and their role in the global financial markets.

He told the meeting: “To be successful, exchanges must serve the needs of the economies they are part of and much of the change we have seen in the policy and regulatory worlds reflects that fact and the need to reduce the risks endemic to the financial system.

“Also, as the global economy expands, exchanges are reshaping themselves to support the flow of capital towards the growth potential of the New Economies in Asia, Russia and South America.

“We are actively supporting the development of regulatory regimes that emphasise efficiency, transparency and neutrality. Capital markets are not a panacea for the problems highlighted by the crisis, but they will be part of the package of solutions being developed to prevent future problems.

“Two years ago, we began a strategy to respond to this changing economic and regulatory environment and we believe the full year financial results announced in May show convincing evidence that this strategy was the right one.

“Many of our plans have borne fruit already, and we have many plans still under development”

On the recent collapse of the proposed merger with TMX, the Canadian stock exchange group, he said: “We know from our successful merger with Borsa Italiana the contribution that TMX could have made to the Group and the benefits the merger would have brought to Canada.

“So while our shareholders were overwhelmingly supportive of the merger, it was disappointing that TMX, while achieving a majority, were unable to secure the two thirds of the votes needed to confirm their shareholders support for the deal.

“We were strongly committed to delivering the merger as part of our wider strategy. But equally, it was not a deal we were willing to do at any cost, or at the expense of shareholder value and were thus not prepared to enter a bidding war for what was designed as a merger.

“Nor was it one we were pursuing at the expense of our core business. In fact, we have maintained higher revenue growth than the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ or Deutsche Borse.

“Although major MA activity will always dominate the headlines, our approach to the opportunities in front of us is far broader. And throughout the negotiations, we improved the efficiency, diversity and financial power of the underlying business.

“Much of the economic growth of the coming decades will be in the high growth, high potential new economies in Asia and elsewhere and partnerships such as the one we signed with Mongolia in April offer a perspective on London’s future sources of strength.”

At 12:35pm:
(LON:LSE) London Stock Exchange share price was +18p at 1014.5p

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