ASIC gets $4m surveillance tool

in brief The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has signed a $4 million two-year contract for the use of an integrated market surveillance system.

The system, to be provided by SMARTS Market Surveillance will analyse activities and trends in market data, identify suspicious trading activity, and raise alerts.

It is to be installed by 1 July 2010, ASIC said in a statement. Monitoring of real-time trading on Australia's domestic licensed markets would be assumed by ASIC during the third quarter of 2010, it said.

The deal was published on government tender website AusTender today.

The appointment follows the Federal Government's decision in August 2009 that ASIC assumes the market surveillance function from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), ASIC said.