Independent finance research centre launched to boost Australia’s finance sector   There are high hopes that more financial sector jobs could be created in Australia as part of a plan to turn the country into a world leading financial centre, a hub in the Asia Pacific region. The launch of the Financial Markets Research Centre (FMRC) at the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in Sydney aims to create greater efficiency, integrity and stability across Australia’s multiple financial trading venues, lifting quality and investor confidence. ‘Research produced by the FMRC will improve understanding and information about Australian equity and futures markets, which is vital for investor confidence’ said Chris Evans, Minister for Science and Research, adding, ‘Industry will play a leading role in the FMRC, along with Australian and overseas universities, stock exchanges, insurance companies and brokers involved in research. An advisory panel of leading industry people will direct the centre to research areas of relevance to the finance industry’. ‘The FMRC’s work will contribute towards the government’s broader productivity agenda and help position Australia as a financial hub in the Asian Century. It will also produce highly trained PhD level graduates with specialist knowledge in the operation of markets. These graduates will ultimately be recruited into the financial markets industry or academia, which will benefit Australia greatly’ he suggested. The FMRC’s research effort will be focused on producing cutting edge research which assesses the impact of technology, regulation and new products on the quality of Australian financial markets. This will contribute to Australia’s ambition to be a regional finance centre and assist by benchmarking the Australian market against the country’s major competitors. Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Bernie Ripoll said the FMRC will look into investor, broker, and company relationships to provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of market operators like the ASX, as well as the impact of ‘dark pools’.