Warsaw Bourse Won't Reduce Latency On Current Engine - CEO
07 Settembre 2009 - 1:24PM
Dow Jones News
The Warsaw Stock Exchange doesn't plan to significantly increase
speed on its current trading engine as transaction times satisfy
the needs of the market, WSE Chief Executive Ludwik Sobolewski told
Dow Jones Newswires.
"At this time, there is no need to reduce latency, as it
complies with the needs of our members, including foreign members,"
he said. "It would be art for art's sake."
Sobolewski added that latency - the time it takes between an
order being sent and the recipient getting it - has been reduced
three to four times over the past four years. The current latency
is 41 milliseconds and the 9-year-old Warset system is capable of
handling around 700 orders a second.
The London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE.LN), which is
reportedly interested in acquiring the Warsaw exchange, said in
August its latency was at 2.7 milliseconds with the goal of
increasing speed to sub-millisecond.
Sobolewski said Monday the Warsaw Stock Exchange could increase
transaction speed significantly when it replaces the Warset engine
at an unspecified time in the future.
Warsaw traders believe there is currently little need for lower
latency as algorithmic, or automated, trading hasn't yet become
popular on the Polish stock market.
"Automated trading practically does not exist, while brokerage
houses also take quite a bit of time to process orders," a trader
said. "Setting new speed records by the exchange would thus not
change the picture."
Sobolewski declined to provide details of the due diligence
process currently underway by several large exchanges interested in
the acquisition of the Warsaw exchange.
"The due-diligence process is going ahead as planned," he
said.
In July, Poland's Treasury short-listed four exchanges -
Deutsche Boerse (DB1.XE), LSE, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and
NYSE Euronext (NYX) - to conduct due diligence on the exchange.
The Polish government plans to sell a majority stake in the WSE,
or Gielda Papierow Wartosciowych w Warszawie SA, by the end of
2009, as part of its ambitious privatization plan, which aims to
raise 12 billion zlotys ($4 billion) this year.
Company Web site: http://www.wse.com.pl
-By Marcin Sobczyk, Dow Jones Newswires; +4822 447-2432;
marcin.sobczyk@dowjones.com