Frequently Asked Questions

APX has been granted a licence under the Corporations Act to conduct a financial market, referred to as an Australian Market Licence. This is the same type of licence granted to the ASX under the same legislation. 

Since its inception in 1987, the ASX has dominated Australian capital markets. APX does not seek to compete directly with the ASX, but rather direct its attention to an 'under serviced' constituency whose capital needs are not met by, and/or they do not meet the entry criteria of the ASX and other local stock exchanges. 

 

Consequently, APX has been designed to meet the capital market needs of its targeted market. APX:

 

         Has a lower listing threshold than the ASX (more accessible listing criteria);

         Has a very simple fee structure (with no initial listing fees), and simple rules (without compromising investor confidence and the integrity of a regulated market);

         Requires fewer structural constraints on listees, such as voting and control restrictions and spread and capitalisation rules; and

 

The health of any capital market is determined by its ability to meet the primary needs of both listees and investors. Listees require ongoing access to capital, enhanced credibility and a platform for strategic growth; while investors require market integrity, market transparency and liquidity. 

 

We are confident that the APX model achieves all these market requisites.

 

Each Board has been designed to reflect the characteristics of a specific capital market sector. The three Boards and listings which may typically be included are:

 

1.       Property Board

       Property Syndicators;

       Mezzanine Funds;

       Single Developments;

       Institutional Assets;

       Property Trusts; and

       Stapled Securities.

 

2.       Hybrids & Debt Board

       Fixed Interest;

       Preference Shares;

       Convertible Notes;

       Bonds;

       Debentures; and

       Unsecured Notes.

 

3.      Equity Board

       Co-operatives;

       Family companies (succession planning with restricted voting);

       Compliance listings;

       Employee Share Plans; and

       IPO’s.

 

APX is mindful that shareholder value is driven by a combination of transparency and research. The design and structure of APX ensures that investors can confidently participate in the market, because of:

 

         Listee's Primary Needs Met – APX offers 3 tailored markets, supported by a participant structure that facilitates ongoing access to capital; enhanced credibility of a public listing and a platform for strategic growth. Many investors will already be associated with a listee prior to listing, eg co-operatives;

         Market integrity – Participation in formal capital market's enforces business disciplines, enabling full price discovery and participant accountability;

         Richness of information – The focused attention of brokers & research panellists;

         Enhanced liquidity - The APX provides live information, ensuring all market participants are fully informed which promotes greater liquidity;

         Convenience – Listees do not have to change existing shareholder structures (eg spread; voting restrictions);

         Access – APX can be accessed through the Internet, and trading 'tracked' accordingly;

         Transparency – Enforced business disciplines and strong reporting compliance requirements; and

         Experience – APX model is an evolution and refinement of the successful Exempt Markets.

 

The rules under which APX has been awarded its Australian Market Licence require all participant brokers to be approved by APX and to have sat an exam regarding APX Business rules. 

 

If your broker has not as yet followed this path, then they will have to deal through an approved APX Broker. 

 

There is no restriction as to the number of APX Brokers with which an investor can hold an account.

 

APX believes that as the market grows and enjoys a higher public profile, most stockbroking organisations will seek to become APX Members.

 

For more information on carbon trading in Australia and Australia’s first regulated carbon trading market (The Australian Climate Exchange) visit www.climateexchange.com.au or call (08 9347 8000).

 

All shares on the APX market can be bought and sold through one of the APX’s registered stockbrokers. Brokers act as your agent to facilitate the buying and selling of APX shares. By filling out an APX client agreement form and signing up with one of APX’s broker’s, people from all around the world are eligible to trade in APX shares. Each brokerage company has an Australian financial service licence and specialised advisers with an advanced knowledge of the APX market and its operation. Contact an APX registered broker for more details on how to buy and sell shares.

 

APX uses a paper based certificate system to recognise ownership and transfer of companies listed on the APX market. When a trade is conducted on market both the buying and selling parties have five days after the trade day to fulfil their settlement obligations.

 

The buyer is required to deliver payment for the securities bought within this five days and the seller is required to complete, sign and deliver both their transfer forms and share certificate to the buying broker.

 

For more details of the settlement procedure on the APX refer to chapter 6 of the APX Business Rules – Delivery and Settlement

 

A trading halt is a temporary interruption to the normal trading of a Listee’s securities.

A trading halt can be requested by a Listee or imposed by APX.

 

Trading halts occur when a price sensitive announcement is given to the APX Market Announcements Department by a listee. Before being released to the market APX determines either on request of the listee or through its own adjudication that the announcement is price-sensitive and a 10 minute trading halt is placed on the relevant stock so no shareholders are disadvantaged. During a trading halt orders can be placed but there is no matching of orders or trades until trading resumes after 10 minutes.

Dividends are payments made by a company to its shareholder members. This provides for a shareholders entitlement to a share in the companies profits or earnings and can be a key criteria in an investor’s decision to invest in a company. Public companies on licenced markets including APX usually pay dividends on a fixed schedule, but may declare a dividend at any time, sometimes called a special dividend to distinguish it from a regular one.

 

Companies on the APX are required to disclose their dividend payments and when these will occur to the market via company announcements. The following terms are important when dealing with the payment of dividends:

 

Yes. There are no nationality restrictions on the APX market. However, individuals are not allowed to trade directly on the exchange, all orders must be placed by a registered APX broker. Individuals living outside Australia should contact one of the registered APX brokers listed in the brokers section of this webpage to get more information on how to trade in APX securities or open an account.

 

The APX market goes through a number of phases during every trading day. Each specific phase has its own reason for existence and trading rules to ensure the market remains efficient in its operation.

 

 

 

 

·          Opening takes place at 10:00 amSydney time and lasts for around 2 minutes.

·          During this phase the trading system reviews all orders placed during the pre-opening phase and calculates an opening price for each stock.

·          The length of pre-opening is determined by the number of orders on the system that need to be matched. Phase can last from a few seconds if there are not many orders to 5 minutes if there is a large backlog of orders on the system.

 

·          Normal Trading takes place from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Sydney time. Brokers enter orders into the web based trading platform and these orders are matched against each other, resulting in trades. Once accepted by the terminal operator all trades are automatically matched in Price/Time Priority on a continuous basis.

·          The vast majority of trades take place during Normal Trading.

In order to list, an entity must meet the following minimum market entry criteria.

·         Bigger is not always better! The APX is designed to meet market needs and enable business prosperity.

or…Aggregate face value of securities of at least $1m for APX Hybrids & Debt Board

 

·         Shareholders must hold at least $2,000 shareholding each; and

·         At least 25% of main class of securities not held by related parties.

or…Minimum of 25 holders of fixed interest securities for APX Hybrids & Debt Board

 

·         Minimum 12 month working capital required.

&…Audited accounts for previous 3 years (if applicable)

 

·         Prospectus; or

·         Product Disclosure Statement (PDS); or

·         Information Memorandum (if permitted by APX).

 

The listee's constitution must be consistent with APX Listees' Listing Standards.

 

The listee's directors and senior management must collectively have the appropriate expertise and experience for the management of the group's business.

 

 

·         Appoint an APX Research Panellist if applying for a listing on the APX Property Board;

·         Abide by the APX Business Rules and APX Listees' Listing Standards (available on request).

 

An approved APX Broker will be required to conduct trading and settlement.

 

 

All 3 APX Boards have fee structures that are simple and transparent, suiting the capital needs of APX constituents. A major point of differentiation from other local exchanges is that listing organisations are NOT required to pay an application/market entry fee, but are only required to pay an annual subscription fee. On the Property and Equity Boards, the annual listee subscription fee is determined by the size of the listee market capitalisation. The Hybrids & Debt Board has a different fee structure.

 

APX Research Panellists are required to pay an application fee on being approved by the APX, with no further fees thereafter. 

 

APX Brokers are required to pay an APX Membership fee, an annual subscription fee, and a fee per trade.

 

To view the APX Listing Fees, click here. APX Participant Fee Schedule can be obtained on request from APX.

 

APX operates a regulated market, with similar rules and regulations as the ASX. Attention has been given to listing & trading rules and client documentation to ensure full disclosure occurs, thereby delivering market transparency and building investor confidence. 

 

Listees are required to have prepared a prospectus or similar prior to listing, and are then required to submit half yearly and annual accounts, as well as regular market announcements regarding any 'price sensitive' activity. The formal presence of APX Brokers and APX Research Panellists supports the market integrity of listee disclosures.

 

No market can succeed without the active and profitable participation by brokers and others. APX is conscious that many currently publicly listed companies find that the market does not provide the liquidity, research and access to capital markets that they expected. Being aware of this, APX has given considerable attention to ensuring that those providing research and broking are well chosen for the task, and will provide support to listees and benefit to themselves.

 

Although Corporate Advisers have no formal relationship with APX, they are the key drivers of quality 'deal flow' to the market, through their formal and on-going advisory and guiding relationship with a listee in achieving capital/funding solutions and structures to provide for their client's strategic growth needs.

 

The APX Broker drives market liquidity by actively marketing the positives of listees and the investment benefits therein, as well as best serving the investment needs of their investor clients. 

 

The APX Research Panellist provides information richness to the market by undertaking research on listees' and their market sector, enabling informed opinion by APX Brokers and investors. An APX Research Panellist cannot undertake research for an entity with which they have historically had a professional or business relationship.

 

Brokers and research panellists must be formally approved by APX in order to become an APX Participant. Nominated broker affiliates and authorised representatives are required to sit an exam on the APX Business Rules in order to become an accredited APX Broker.

 

Yes – this is strongly encouraged. However, it is anticipated that specialisation will occur in individual markets, eg research of property listings for the Property Board.

 

The APX specialises in promoting listees that have specialised needs that aren’t catered for by any of the other domestic exchanges. Whether the company is an SME, property fund, co-operative, mezzanine fund or many more APX caters for the needs of its listees by allowing differing share structures (eg, non-voting shares for Co-Operatives) and giving listees maximum exposure through sponsor interaction and research reports being released on all its listees.

 

 

To find out whether your businesses structure is catered for by APX and how you will be promoted contact us by clicking here or calling on 1300 135 626.