What Companies List On The Australian Stock Market?

The Australian stock market, also known as the Australian Securities Exchange or ASX, is where the shares of publicly listed companies in Australia are bought, sold and traded.

The Australian Stock Exchange Limited was formed in 1987 after the Australian Parliament drafted legislation that enabled the amalgamation of six independent state-based stock exchanges. Each of those exchanges brought with it a history of share trading dating back to the 19th century.^[1]

With some of those exchanges – such as the Victorian-based exchange was established to support the gold rush of the 1850’s, at one point dealt with some of the most affluent markets in the world. The ASX is steep in heritage and history and offers significant opportunity for investors.

The Australian stock market functions not only as a market operator, clearing house and facilitator, but it also overseas compliance and promotes corporate governance for ASX listed companies.[2]

With many Australian’s embracing investing or trading to establish themselves a more comfortable lifestyle, or a career iteration now or in the future, the ASX also offers a wide range of education platforms, training seminars and simulators that promote financial acumen from any age, regardless if you have a trading account or not.

Why do companies want to list on the Australian Stock Market?

There are a number of reasons why companies want to list on the Australian stock market, not only does the company receive a globally recognised listing on the ASX and therefore credibility, but they also gain access to:

• Capital
• Secondary market liquidity
• Initial and ongoing funding
• Visibility in the market^[3]

All of the above are vitally important for companies looking to grow, scale or expand either in domestic markets or overseas.

Companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange are thrust into a new world of accountability, transparency and responsibly, not only to the existing owners or employees, but also now in many cases to thousands of investors, also known as retail investors that have a vested interest into the reporting and profitability of the company.

For a company to list on the Australian Stock Marketthey need to complete and comply with a wide range of criteria – for more information please see the attached – and also need to list their company through an IPO or initial public offering.

An initial public offering (IPO), or ‘float’, is when a private company lists on a stock exchange to raise funds by selling shares to investors, including members of the public.^[4]

The floating of a company on the Australian stock exchange then provides the company to raise much-needed capital from investors to fund the planned strategic expansion allowing them to scale on a size not possible without outside investment.

The Australian Stock Market is not only regulated by the Reserve Bank of Australia or RBA but also ASIC or the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, not to mention consumer and trade law through state and/or Commonwealth legislations.

If you have superannuation, shares or any financial instruments originating from Australia, odds are you are dealing in the Australian Stock Market.

[1]https://www.asx.com.au/about/history.htm

[2]https://www.asx.com.au/about/asx-group.htm

[3]https://ramsdenlaw.com.au/news/what-are-the-requirements-for-listing-a-public-company-on-the-asx/

[4]https://www.commsec.com.au/support/learn/choosing-investments/what-is-an-ipo.html

We welcome you to give our team a call to discuss your investment goals and objectives.

You can call Walker Capital Australia on +61 2 8076 2210, and we’ll see how we can help you achieve your investment goals.

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