MELBOURNE, March 21 (Reuters) - Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said he would not be influenced by politics in deciding whether to back a planned A$7.37 billion ($7.33 billion) bid by Singapore Exchange for Australian bourse operator ASX Ltd.
His comments came amid several media reports that the government was set to reject the merger in the face of widespread political hostility to the deal which is currently under review by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
'I have no idea where those reports come from. They are entirely speculation,' Swan said in an interview on Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
'My decision will be taken in the national interest and it will have nothing to do with those political considerations whatsoever.'
On Saturday, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted a senior government source as saying that if the FIRB does not stop the deal, the Treasury certainly would.
ASX's shares last traded 17 percent below the value of the offer, reflecting investors' doubts that the deal will go ahead, even after SGX agreed bowed to political pressure and agreed to give ASX an equal number of directors in a merged group.
The deal faces several key hurdles: first it needs approval from the Treasurer after the FIRB comes up with a recommendation, then parliament has to agree to lifting a 15 percent shareholder cap in ASX, and finally, it needs approval from ASX and SGX shareholders.
Last week, key opposition politicians raised doubts about the deal, saying the Labor government had yet to prove why it would be in Australia's interest and saying it would have won support if it had been structured as a merger of equals.
For a minority government that is holding power only with the support of Greens and independent politicians, it will be hard for Labor politicians to go out on a limb to support the deal if the opposition Coalition gives it a thumbs down.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that the government was 'just going through the motions' in reviewing the deal, but Treasurer Swan said that was not the case.
'The final decision maker here is the Treasurer. I will take my decision based on the evidence before me, based not only on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Review Board but a thorough consideration of all of these issues in good time. I will do all that without any outside influences upon me whatsoever,' he said.
SGX Chief Executive Magnus Bocker said last month that there would be no further concessions on terms of the deal.
ASX, SGX, business leaders and market players say the deal should go ahead at a time when the world's biggest exchanges are in talks to merge in order to build scale and cut costs in face of competition from new electronic trading platforms.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Ed Davies) Keywords: ASX SGX/ (Sonali.Paul@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
His comments came amid several media reports that the government was set to reject the merger in the face of widespread political hostility to the deal which is currently under review by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
'I have no idea where those reports come from. They are entirely speculation,' Swan said in an interview on Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
'My decision will be taken in the national interest and it will have nothing to do with those political considerations whatsoever.'
On Saturday, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted a senior government source as saying that if the FIRB does not stop the deal, the Treasury certainly would.
ASX's shares last traded 17 percent below the value of the offer, reflecting investors' doubts that the deal will go ahead, even after SGX agreed bowed to political pressure and agreed to give ASX an equal number of directors in a merged group.
The deal faces several key hurdles: first it needs approval from the Treasurer after the FIRB comes up with a recommendation, then parliament has to agree to lifting a 15 percent shareholder cap in ASX, and finally, it needs approval from ASX and SGX shareholders.
Last week, key opposition politicians raised doubts about the deal, saying the Labor government had yet to prove why it would be in Australia's interest and saying it would have won support if it had been structured as a merger of equals.
For a minority government that is holding power only with the support of Greens and independent politicians, it will be hard for Labor politicians to go out on a limb to support the deal if the opposition Coalition gives it a thumbs down.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that the government was 'just going through the motions' in reviewing the deal, but Treasurer Swan said that was not the case.
'The final decision maker here is the Treasurer. I will take my decision based on the evidence before me, based not only on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Review Board but a thorough consideration of all of these issues in good time. I will do all that without any outside influences upon me whatsoever,' he said.
SGX Chief Executive Magnus Bocker said last month that there would be no further concessions on terms of the deal.
ASX, SGX, business leaders and market players say the deal should go ahead at a time when the world's biggest exchanges are in talks to merge in order to build scale and cut costs in face of competition from new electronic trading platforms.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Ed Davies) Keywords: ASX SGX/ (Sonali.Paul@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.