Britain's LSE owns Italian Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana, which in turn controls the MTS platform on which Italy's government bonds are traded.

"(Hong Kong's bid for LSE) is unexpected news, as the offer was unsolicited, and for this reason we will be vigilant to make sure any development of this situation does not harm Italian interests," the party said in a statement.

It said it would ask newly appointed Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri to clarify whether such an acquisition would pose risks for Italy.

(Reporting by Andrea Mandala and Elvira Pollina, writing by Silvia Aloisi)