Feb 16, 2012
Eurex to list Russian derivatives
Eurex Exchange, the
derivatives market owned by Deutsche Börse, is set to introduce a new family of
contracts based on Russian depository receipts traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
From 19 March, Eurex will
offer futures and options based on the RDX USD equity index.
The RDX USD index has been
calculated by the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1997, and tracks the prices of
the 15 most liquid depository receipts traded on the LSE’s
International Order Book. These include stocks such as Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft, Norilsk and Sberbank.
Eurex's new Russian contracts may rile the LSE, which has struggled to get its new derivatives market off the ground, partly because of what some perceived to be anti-competitive measures by the German exchange group last year.
The LSE's Turquoise Derivatives market, which launched last June, was refused the licence to offer contracts based on STOXX, the index provider owned by Deutsche Börse, forcing it to lodge a complaint with European competition authorities.
In order to build up liquidity
in RDX USD contracts quickly, Eurex Exchange will be offering a market-making
incentive program.
The new contracts will be
settled in cash and Eurex will offer quarterly expiration dates for RDX USD
index futures with a maximum maturity of twelve months, increasing to 60 months
for index options.
“Our highly liquid platform
now also offers our global customers listed hedging instruments based on this
index, which is mainly used in the off-exchange market,” explained Steffen
Köhler, head of product development, Eurex. “We also aim to increase the
attractiveness of our RDX USD derivatives by offering participants our flexible
contracts facilities for these products.”
Anish Puaar
+44 (0)20 7397 3817
anish.puaar@thetrade.ltd.uk