Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. President Taizo Nishimuro said Monday that any possible alliance with the New York Stock Exchange would be opened to other bourses.
Referring to his talks with NYSE Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer John Thain in New York earlier this month, Nishimuro told a news conference they agreed that any partnership would "not be exclusive" to the two exchanges.
Nishimuro confirmed the TSE has been discussing the proposed tieup with the NYSE since March but said he and Thain promised not to reveal what they discussed in detail. "Anything is possible," he added.
"Stock exchanges shoulder increasing costs for the maintenance of their (computer) systems," Nishimuro said while expressing the belief the TSE will survive global consolidation. "The number of bourses that could handle their own systems will decrease to around five, and the TSE will be one of them."