TMX Group Inc. is focused on becoming a major international player in the global exchange marketplace, CEO Thomas Kloet said on Friday at a global exchange and electronic trading conference in New York.

“We are very much a universal exchange, now with an expanding footprint internationally,” Kloet said.

He noted that last year, the company acquired a majority stake in the Boston Options Exchange Group and has developed a partnership with the exchange as a technology provider. In addition, TMX Group recently bolstered its European presence with a partnership and stake in EDX London, the equity derivatives business of the London Stock Exchange.

TMX Group is also focused on continued domestic growth, Kloet noted. The company has experienced significant volume and transaction growth in the past few years, he said, and is on track for sharp volume growth of 25% this year.

“We continue to see important growth in our market,” he said.

Despite the challenges that markets around the world have faced in recent months, Kloet said the financial crisis has provided opportunities for stock exchanges.

“There is a silver lining in the current economic cycle for exchanges,” he said. “There is certainly an increase in volatility, which we think provides important equity trading opportunities.”

In addition, Kloet said the increased emphasis on hedging and risk management has resulted in derivative trading and clearing opportunities. The derivatives market is a key area of focus for TMX Group. Kloet sees strong growth prospects for the derivative market in Canada and the company plans to expand its product offering in this area.

“You’ll see a number of our product efforts going forward to really be centred around the derivative market,” he said.

For example, Montreal Exchange Inc. recently introduced a new mini futures contract on the S&P/TSX composite index to allow for more diverse trading opportunities for portfolio managers, individual investors and market participants.

“We think that potential to bring futures trading to the retail investor is still very much in front of us in Canada,” he said.

Kloet added that he was thrilled with news on Friday morning that TMX Group had been selected by the Canadian Securities Administrators to act as an information processor for exchange-traded securities for the next five years. A consolidated information processor providing data to investors and market participants will be an important step forward for Canadian equity markets, Kloet said.

“We’re very pleased with that announcement,” he said. “We think that bodes well for increasing the Canadian marketplace overall.”