Stock market equivalence

Stock market equivalence is granted by the European Union to those countries whose stock markets are deemed to be 'equivalent' to those of the EU countries. On 3 January 2018, the EU implemented the "Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II" (colloquially known as "MiFID II") which required all European investment firms & traders to trade the shares of a company listed in the EU on a stock exchange within the EU or an equivalent third country exchange.^[1] In order to gain equivalence, the trading venues of the concerned country should have a high level of investor protection and sound mechanisms to deal with insider trading. The main purpose of this measure is to protect the interests of investors based in the EU. Analysts have called it a pioneer in financial regulation with the potential to  restructure the global financial system.^{[citation needed]} As of 1 July 2019, only three jurisdictions had been granted equivalence: the United States of America, Australia and Hong Kong.^{[citation needed]} Switzerland too was granted equivalence, but only temporarily, and the EU announced in early May 2019 that it would not renew equivalence for Switzerland after 1 July 2019. This was part of the wider Swiss-EU trade dispute.^[2]