Ann: ASX Update on status of ASX Directions, page-423

In my opinion, there are two possibilities:

1) ASX started off in the interest of the 'market' but lost its way and is now in a hole too deep to come out of. The fact ISX has taken them to court has strained the relationship to the point ASX wants ISX to remain suspended for as long as possible as punishment (or to boost some strained egos), so it can't raise capital for acquiring smaller companies to grow, lose partnerships due to the uncertainty, etc.

2) ASX sees the ClearPay JV a big threat. It's been difficult for a competitor to emerge due to the requirements and the deal not being attractive enough to bigger overseas participants (since the ASX on a global scale is still a small market with too much effort to get things rolling). The ClearPay JV is a threat that needs to be taken seriously as ISX is agile, kicking goals and has the necessary IPs and services interoperating to make things work. The government is also in full support of competition in this area. ISX can also expand its services globally unlike ASX stuck here, so has to aggressively defend its business.

The journey over the last 10 months has educated me 2) is the more likely one but with the second part of 1) adding insult to injury.