-Australia’s corporate regulator has begun investigating possible breaches of disclosure rules at share market operator ASX Ltd, the company said on Wednesday, after it cancelled a years-long rebuild of its trading software system.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will investigate whether ASX broke laws relating to director responsibilities over public statements issued by the company in relation to the troubled project, which was pulled in 2022 after years of delays.
The market operator took a one-off charge of A$176.3 million this February linked to the project, drawing criticism from market participants, regulators and elected lawmakers late last year due to the company’s earlier statements about its progress.
Months before the company abandoned the project in November last year, it had told shareholders and stockbrokers that the new system was on track, but the schedule was repeatedly postponed.
The ASX said in a statement that it “takes its obligations very seriously and will cooperate fully with ASIC”.
ASIC declined to comment since the investigation was ongoing.
At a parliamentary hearing in December, ASX apologised for the failure but denied misleading the market or regulators.