Press releases 2002

22 February 2002

 

RNS APPROVED AS COMMERCIAL NEWS PROVIDER

 

The London Stock Exchange today welcomed the FSA's confirmation that company news will be distributed commercially from 2 April.

 

The Exchange also welcomed the FSA's approval of RNS as a Regulatory Information Service (RIS).

 

Chief Executive Clara Furse said the chance to offer and develop RNS on a commercial basis represented an important business opportunity for the Exchange.

 

"The Exchange has invested significantly in RNS over a number of years to develop a service that is highly valued by customers for its ease of use, reliability and security," she said.

 

"RNS helps ensure that high standards of market integrity are maintained and we are confident that the quality of our service allows us to enter the new commercial environment in a position of strength.

 

"We will continue to develop RNS to make sure we are providing the most cost-efficient and customer-focused service, with the clear objective of being seen as the provider of choice in a competitive environment."

 

Earlier this year, the Exchange successfully introduced a wide range of new services that underpin the ability of RNS to deliver valuable, cutting-edge services to customers.

 

Customers have welcomed the services, which include upgrades to the RNS internet submission mechanism; a new service for non-regulatory announcements; video and audio streaming capability; and additional analysis and distribution tools.

 

RNS releases 170,000 announcements each year, which are distributed to over 250,000 professional terminals world-wide, as well as to major financial websites and databases. 70 per cent of these announcements are submitted via the Exchange's sophisticated internet technology.

 

Investors can access real-time RNS information free of charge through the Exchange's own website www.londonstockexchange.com/rns.

 

In an effort to continue to provide private investors with a single source of market information, all regulatory announcements, regardless of the original disseminating RIS, will be available via the Exchange's web site. The Exchange is committed to providing all market participants with equal access to information.

 

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For further information, please contact:	Jamin Smith
	Press Office +44 (0)20 7797 1222
	or press@londonstockexchange.com