(Reuters) - Australia's corporate regulator said on Wednesday it was suing the country's bourse operator ASX Ltd ( ASXFF ) for making misleading statements regarding the replacement of its trading platform Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS).

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) alleged ASX's statements that claimed the replacement of the CHESS remained "on-track for go-live" in April 2023 and was "progressing well" were misleading.

ASIC alleged the statements were "deceptive" as the project was not moving ahead as planned when the statements were made in early February 2022 and ASX did not have any "reasonable basis" to imply that the project would meet the timeline.

"We believe this was a collective failure by the ASX Board and senior executives at the time," ASIC Chair Joe Longo said in a media statement.