Japanese Regulator Approves TSE, OSE Exchange Merger

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), the country's anti-monopoly regulatory body, has approved the merger of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) operator TSE Group, and the Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE).

"Given the remedies concerning services related to listing stocks in markets for emerging companies, services related to trading stocks, and services related to trading Japanese equities index futures, which the parties submitted to the JFTC, the JFTC has decided that the proposed business combination may not substantially restrain competition in any particular field of trade," JFTC officials say in a statement.

Agreed upon last November, the merger proposal was submitted to the JFTC on Jan. 4 and has been under review since. Assuming it is approved at upcoming shareholder meetings, it is expected to be completed by Jan. 1, 2013. The new entity will become the second-largest exchange group in the world.

"We will continue working toward the business combination to strengthen our presence as a global financial center, increase convenience for market users, and also contribute to raising the competitiveness of the Japanese financial and capital market in our efforts to revitalize the Japanese economy," TSE Group officials say.