ASX turns to Tata, passing over Nasdaq, to rescue CHESS

Jonathan Shapiro and James Eyers

Updated Nov 20, 2023 – 4.53pm, first published at 9.30am

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The ASX has chosen India’s Tata to redesign and replace the 30-year-old system of clearing and settlement that underpins the sharemarket, dealing a blow to US giant Nasdaq which was considered a frontrunner for the project.

A year after ASX shredded its plans for a long-touted blockchain-based system, raising the ire of shareholders and regulators, the market operator said on Monday its reassessment of how to replace the CHESS infrastructure now rests with licensing the software at a cost of up to $125 million for stage one.

Jonathan Shapiro writes about banking and finance, specialising in hedge funds, corporate debt, private equity and investment banking. He is based in Sydney.

James Eyers writes on banking, payments and fintech. He is a former legal and investment banking editor at the AFR, has degrees in commerce and law from UNSW, and is co-author of Buy now, pay later: The extraordinary story of Afterpay