LSE’s IOB hits US$1.2 billion for tenth birthday

Ten years after launch, the London Stock Exchange’s International Order Book has reached an average daily trading volume of US$1.2 billion, making it the world’s most liquid market for global depository receipts trading.
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Ten years after launch, the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) International Order Book (IOB) has reached an average daily trading volume of US$1.2 billion, making it the world’s most liquid market for global depository receipts (GDR) trading.

Launched in 2001, more than £40.6 billion in primary and secondary issues have been raised on the IOB, with 315 stocks from 48 countries now traded on the exchange.

“The International Order Book has demonstrated tremendous growth since its inception in 2001 and has firmly established itself as the world’s most liquid market for trading in GDRs,” said Nicolas Bertrand, head of equities and derivatives markets at LSE. “The continued interest from global companies looking to list their GDRs on LSE markets illustrates the growing international reputation of the IOB.”

Bertrand said the LSE was seeing a greater diversification in the type of firms connecting to the platform, helping to broaden the scope and reach of the market.

“We look forward to building on its success, attracting new issuers, building liquidity and seeing further growth in our derivatives offering in the coming years,” he said.

This year also marks the fifth anniversary of trading in Russian derivatives on the LSE’s derivatives platform, which is now part of Turquoise Derivatives, where, about 90% of globally exchange-traded options in Russian equity and index derivatives takes place.

As part of the celebrations, the London Stock Exchange is today hosting a ‘Russia in Global Markets’ event. Senior representatives from both the Russian and European financial markets will meet to discuss a wide range of topics exploring Russia’s capital markets, international relationships and investment opportunities.

“The introduction five years ago of derivatives based upon highly liquid GDRs has also helped to boost liquidity on the order book, contributing to the group’s position as the leading international gateway to Russia,” said Bertrand.

Speaking on a panel session at the Mondo Visione Exchange Conference this morning, Bertrand said that cross-listing arrangements can benefit all markets involved.

“If we look at the liquidity generated on our International Order Book for Russian securities, it has fed liquidity on both markets and helped to generate some positive investment trends,” he said.

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