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
SOURCE CME Group
Media, Mary Haffenberg, +1-312-930-3435, or Allan Schoenberg, +1-312-930-8189,
news@cmegroup.com, or Investors, John Peschier, +1-312-930-8491, all of CME
Group; or JS Jeong of Korea Exchange, 82.51.662.2742, peter@krx.co.kr
