Suncorp Life Goes Live with HiPortfolio

In order to allow users to meet obligations arising from Australia's new Taxation of Financial Arrangements (TOFA) legislation, Suncorp Life has announced that it is now live with HiPortfolio, which is the firm's long-term administration platform.

This project to make the platform TOFA-compliant was done in conjunction with the DST Global Solutions Advanced User Group, of which Suncorp Life is a member. According to DST, this was overhaul carried a "multi-million-dollar" price tag.

"We are pleased to outline such a smooth implementation for Suncorp Life to its TOFA-ready status," says DST Global Solutions CEO Tom Abraham in a statement.

According to the Australian government, TOFA is "a comprehensive framework for taxing financial arrangements. The measures cover tax timing treatments for financial arrangements, including elective hedging rules that are designed to minimize tax mismatches."

BST's analysis: Australia is that next frontier of hot markets. Chi-X is due to launch, at the earliest, in March of 2011, though there are rumors that that timetable may be ambitious. Regardless, there will be greater competition for the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) upon Chi-X's arrival, which will create more juice in the market. Australia will be a hot spot next year for firms making announcements.