How will Chi-X Australia’s launch change the landscape?

The threat of competition alone has already driven equity trading costs in Australia down to the lowest level among developed Asia-Pacific markets – and that’s before the nation’s first alternative trading venue has even been launched. Agency research brokerage ITG notes the average cost of executing a trade in Australia is about 33 basis points (bp), with Japan second lowest at 38-40bp over the past two rolling quarters. (The average across developed Asia, however, is still about…