Hear Jesper Koll's reaction to the first day's trading

New York's technology-led Nasdaq market obviously has global ambitions. The Nasdaq is already playing a part in the merger between the stock exchanges in London and Frankfurt and has now taken another step in its expansionist plans.

The Nasdaq has opened in Japan. It is only trading eight stocks so far but several more companies are planning a listing. Nasdaq Japan, which is based in Osaka, is a joint venture between the United States Nasdaq and the major Japanese Internet investment group Softbank.

Our reporter Vanessa Heaney asked Frank Zarb, the Chairman of Nasdaq, if this was a move towards a global 24-hour stock exchange.

"It is certainly a first step. It represents the first time a stock exchange has grown a root outside of its home country with the intent to interconnect with the other markets of the world so that the near-term result, which will be between the next 12 or 18 months, is a Nasdaq Japan interconnected with Nasdaq US interconnected with Europe, and that would mean interconnected with our IX partnership with the London and Frankfurt stock exchanges."

Vanessa Heaney mentioned that technology sectors had taken quite a beating in the last few months. As the new index was going to be a technology-specific stock exchange, was it not a bad time to launch such an exhange she asked?

"Where the markets are at any given time really has nothing to do with our timing. Our job is not to pick highs or lows, but to make sure that the markets run properly and that there is maximum liquidity and maximum transparency.

What this does, is it allows the companies the ease of raising capital away from their home countries and allows investors to invest in companies from outside their home country with a great deal of ease. In the end, what it really does is help to grow an economy and create jobs - and that is what it is all about."

Last December the Tokyo stock exchange launched an alternative exchange, the Mothers, and this has not done very well. Vanessa Heaney imagined investors may well be sceptical about another stock exchange.

"If Nasdaq US is any indication of investor interest, then this is going to grow rather quickly. We are going to manage it’s growth so that it does not grow too quickly. The Mothers market has different standards than ours."

Nasdaq Japan is the home of new economy companies - some of them are technology and some of them are not. Frank Zarb

The Tokyo stock exchange currently has a 90 per cent grip on all equity trading in Japan. Vanessa Heaney wanted to know how Nasdaq Japan proposed to take them on when they were only listing eight companies?

"There is a vast difference between us. When you trade in Nasdaq Japan you are trading with the world; meaning very shortly those companies that qualify, and it will not be every company, will trade in Denver, Colorado as well as Frankfurt and London and that is good for the company and it is good for investors."

A positive reaction so far but, as Vanessa Heaney pointed out, only eight companies were listed so far. When could we expect more to come on board, she asked Jesper Koll?

"They have a pipeline of about another 100 companies set to list over the next 12-15 months. The key to the success of Nasdaq Japan is going to be balance. If you just have dot-com companies, then I think the outlook for Nasdaq is not going to be good.

To get a good balance of true new entrepreneurs, taking the opportunity to raise capital, that balanced approach, getting some service companies in there, some pharmaceutical companies etc., that is what is going to make or break the success of this market."

The whole focus is on new entrepreneurs. You can invest in old traditional Japanese companies in Tokyo, but if you want the new exciting growth companies, then you should go to Osaka where you do get global exposure. Jesper Koll