NYSE Euronext is gunning to be the first company to list on the international board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange whenever it is thrown open for foreign firms, the chief executive of the world's largest stock exchange said yesterday.

Duncan Niederauer, who is on his fifth visit to Beijing ever since he took over from John Thain in 2007, said he would meet with executives of the exchange and officials from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) in Shanghai tomorrow to discuss the details of the listing.

The Shanghai government said on Monday that it would permit foreign companies to list on the city bourse "at the right time" in a bid to accelerate the process of turning the city into a New York-style international financial center by 2020.