Australia and Singapore stock merger talks are on again
A planned $8bn (£5bn) merger between stock market operators in Australia and Singapore may be moving closer after talks started up again.
Analysts said the original deal will probably be restructured in order to make it more attractive to politicians and regulators.
The planned merger is between the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the Singapore stock exchange (SGX).
It comes after rival market operators in the US and Europe announced tie ups.
The deal was first announced in October last year, but ran into problems with regulators and policymakers in Australia who were worried about which company would have control of the new firm.
The current talks are focusing on the make up of the company's board of directors, news agencies reported.
Should the problems be ironed out then analysts said the deal would help boost Singapore as a major financial hub in Asia.
At the same time, it would give Australian investors greater access to Asian markets.
Asian stock markets and investors are benefiting from quicker rates of economic growth than are being seen in Western markets.
ASX asked for its shares to be suspended while the talks were going on.