MillenniumIT ESP is a Sri Lanka-based

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

firm that specialises in

electronic trading In finance, an electronic trading platform also known as an online trading platform, is a computer software program that can be used to place orders for financial products over a network with a financial intermediary. Various financial products c ...

systems, and capital market technology solutions, and is headquartered in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Sri Lanka. It has been a fully owned technology business sector of

London Stock Exchange Group London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSEG) is a United Kingdom-based stock exchange and financial information company headquartered in the City of London, England. It owns the London Stock Exchange (on which it is also listed), Refinitiv, LSEG T ...

since 2009. It rebranded in 2017 as LSEG Technology. MillenniumIT's systems are used by exchange businesses around the world including,

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

, Borsa Italiana,

Turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...

, the

London Metal Exchange The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange with the world's largest market in standarised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ferrous metals and precious ...

Johannesburg Stock Exchange JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...

and a series of emerging market exchanges.

History

The company was founded in 1996 by Tony Weerasinghe as a systems integrator and Sun Microsystems authorized reseller. MillenniumIT entered the software design field the following year when it interpreted a systems integration contract from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as an opportunity to design and install a straight-through processing system for the Exchange. The CSE solution became the basis for MillenniumIT's suite of capital-markets software products. In the year 2000 MillenniumIT became Sun Microsystems' regional distributor for

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

and

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. Its capital-markets software found a number of customers around the world, and in 2001 MillenniumIT won its first major US contract and set up operations in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, MA. In 2002, the firm moved into its new corporate headquarters, the first

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

style software campus in Sri Lanka. The company was awarded contracts in

and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

. It also continued to expand by opening a UK subsidiary and office in 2004. The following year, the company was contracted to provide an automated equity, ETF and options-trading system for the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was know ...

(AMEX). Live trading at AMEX commenced in 2006, even as the company received a US patent on its Business Innovation Dynamically (BID) technology. At home in Sri Lanka, MillenniumIT commenced implementation of a countrywide intranet for the national fixed-line telecoms provider, SLT, while US operations expanded with a new office in

Jersey City, NJ Jersey City is the second-most populous city (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark, New Jersey, Newark.

London Stock Exchange Group acquisition

Following a contract with

(part of

- LSEG) for a new trading platform for equities, MillenniumIT was acquired by LSEG in 2009. The acquisition gave the company a footing in international competition, and a number of orders from around the world followed shortly. In 2010, LSEG's Turquoise trading platform was successfully migrated to Millennium Exchange, MillenniumIT's flagship capital-markets software. The company was now active on four continents, and important business wins continued in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It also entered into a partnership agreement with

Tullett Prebon TP ICAP Group plc is a financial services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its stock is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was founded by Derek Tullett in 1971 as ...

to further develop the IDB's electronic broking capabilities across a variety of asset classes for internal and external trading systems. In May 2013, Mack Gill became CEO and in June 2014, founder Tony Weeresinghe resigned from the company as Chairman. In 2017, Lanka Century Investments PLC bought the company from the London Stock Exchange Group for LKR1079.1 million.

References

{{Reflist Software companies of Sri Lanka Financial software companies London Stock Exchange 2009 mergers and acquisitionsbr>Rebrand