CME Group, Korea Exchange Sign KOSPI 200 FUTURES Electronic Trade Agreement
September 04 2008 - 5:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
CHICAGO and SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse exchange, and the
Korea Exchange (KRX), a premier capital market place for Northeast
Asia, announced today that they have signed an agreement for the
KOSPI 200 futures contract to be listed on CME Globex(R), the
electronic trading platform of CME Group. The terms of the
five-year agreement will include the creation of a
telecommunications hub in Seoul and will mark the first time the
KRX has embarked on a third-party agreement for its KOSPI 200
product. More than 30 million KOSPI 200 futures, based on the KOSPI
200 stock index of the largest South Korean companies as measured
by market capitalization, traded through July of 2008. Under the
proposed agreement, CME Group will match the trades, with the KRX
continuing to clear and settle their products. A memorandum of
intent was signed between the two exchanges last year. The
contract, which will trade from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. local time
Chicago, or 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. local time Seoul, will be
offered on the same platform as CME Group products, including
derivatives on: the S&P 500(R), NASDAQ-100(R), Dow Jones
Industrial Average(SM), MSCI Emerging Markets and MSCI EAFE(R)
stock indexes; Eurodollars, U.S. Treasury bonds and notes; foreign
exchange; grains and livestock; energy; metals; weather and real
estate. "The addition of the Korea Exchange's KOSPI 200 contract
onto CME Globex will be an important part of our continued global
expansion," said CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy. "Our CME
Globex trading platform provides market users around the world with
access to all of the major asset classes. The addition of the KOSPI
200 futures will offer yet another key market to our electronic
trading customers worldwide." "This agreement with the KRX is
another example of CME Group's continued expansion into the Asia
marketplace," said CME Group Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue.
"Asia is a critical market and key area of focus for our long-term
growth strategy. By adding the KOSPI 200 futures to CME Globex, we
will increase worldwide access to this important benchmark
product." "This agreement for trading of KOSPI 200 futures on CME
Globex will further strengthen the strategic cooperation between
the CME Group and the KRX, and together, the two organizations plan
to lead the global derivatives market," said Chairman and CEO of
the KRX Jung-hwan Lee. CME Group (http://www.cmegroup.com/) is the
world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange. Building on
the heritage of CME, CBOT and NYMEX, CME Group serves the risk
management needs of customers around the globe. As an international
marketplace, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together on the
CME Globex electronic trading platform and on trading floors in
Chicago and New York. CME Group offers the widest range of
benchmark products available across all major asset classes,
including futures and options based on interest rates, equity
indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities,
metals, and alternative investment products such as weather and
real estate. CME Group is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol "CME."
The Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, Globex
and E-mini, are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Further information about CME Group and its products can be found
at http://www.cmegroup.com/. Korea Exchange Inc., established in
January 2005 through the merger of the Korea Stock Exchange (KSE),
the Korea Futures Exchange (KOFEX), the KOSDAQ Market, and the
KOSDAQ Committee, is the sole exchange in the Republic of Korea.
The KRX operates the centralized securities and derivatives markets
where stocks, bonds and derivatives are traded on a common
platform. To best serve its clients, the KRX provides its customers
with the full access to both cash and derivatives markets, and
clears and settles all transactions on its markets as one-stop
service. KRX offers diverse derivatives products primarily in the
following areas: individual stocks, stock index, bond/interest
rate, foreign currency and commodities. According to the 2007
statistics compiled by Futures Industry Association, KOSPI 200
option is the most heavily traded one in the world in terms of
trading volume with 2.7 billion contracts. Korea Exchange, KRX,
KOSPI and KOSPI 200 are registered trademarks of Korea Exchange
Inc. Further information about KRX and its products can be found at
http://www.krx.co.kr/ CME-G DATASOURCE: CME Group CONTACT: Media,
Mary Haffenberg, +1-312-930-3435, or Allan Schoenberg,
+1-312-930-8189, , or Investors, John Peschier, +1-312-930-8491,
all of CME Group; or JS Jeong of Korea Exchange, 82.51.662.2742,
Web site: http://www.cme.com/
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