ASX says no action could be taken on Manikay until SEC probe ended ASX chairman Rick Holliday-Smith has defended the board's handling of the resignation of two directors, saying their positions could not be dealt with until the US Securities and Exchange Commission made a final ruling on short selling breaches by the pairs hedge fund Manikay Partners Mr Holliday-Smith told the annual general meeting that he was first told of the matter only after the notice of meeting for ASX shareholders was sent out on August 26, which included a resolution to re-elect Shane Finemore, the founder of Manikay Partners. The ASX withdrew that resolution when Mr Finemore and Manikay chairman Russell Aboud resigned from the ASX board last week, having accepted a $US2.6 million penalty for breaching short selling regulations in 2009. Mr Holliday-Smith said the matter could not have been dealt with while SEC actions were confidential and unresolved. He told ASX shareholders the board had decided to keep the two men on the board after they decided to start Manikay in 2008 based on their contributions to the market operator. The chairman also told the AGM that the markets operator planned to shift its focus from domestic to international regulations in the current financial year. Mr Holliday-Smith said changes in global regulation are particularly important for the market's derivatives business, as the ASX needs to observe local regulatory standards when dealing with European and American banks in this business. But Mr Holliday-Smith said changes to international regulations also provide new business opportunities, increasing the role that exchanges play in the over-the-counter (OTC) market and creating demand for new risk management and clearing services. He highlighted the ASX's new services for clearing of OTC interest rate swaps and collateral management as one opportunity for growth, reiterating expectations that the full investment program would be complete towards the end of fiscal 2014. Meanwhile, chief executive officer Elmer Funke Kupper said the ASX managed to increase revenue in its listings business despite a subdued environment for new listings and capital raisings. Listings and issuer services revenue rose by 4.7 per cent to $139.7 million, even though the number of new listings and amount of capital raised fell compared to the prior year, he said. By August this year, almost 650 small and mid-cap companies had received approval at their AGMs to raise capital under rules introduced a year earlier that aim to strengthen Australia's position as an attractive market to list and raise capital, he said. The ASX is also set to expand its Equity Research Scheme, which supports research on listed companies with a market capitalisation below $1 billion or about 92 per cent of all companies listed, after running a trial in 2013. Additional reporting: Business Spectator