Italy has EU go ahead to launch new equity fund - Treasury official

ROME (Reuters) - Italy has received approval from the European Union to launch a new equity fund run by state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the director general of the Treasury Alessandro Rivera said on Wednesday.

"The discussion with the EU was concluded in the past few days and we're in a position to go ahead with formal notification to receive formal approval," he told a parliamentary hearing.

Rivera also said Italy wanted to ensure that the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) planned acquisition of data provider Refinitiv, did not harm the development of Borsa Italiana, the Italian market operator that is owned by the LSE.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by James Mackenzie)