Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TSEC) and the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have signed a memorandum of understanding on information sharing and cooperation.
The memorandum, signed by Dr Rong-I Wu, chairman of the TSEC, and Gary Katz, president and CEO of ISE, marked the beginning of closer collaboration between Taiwan and US bourses. ISE believes cooperation on information sharing will facilitate the trading of exchange traded funds (ETFs) on the ISE Stock Exchange and listing options on those ETFs as well as certain indexes. It adds that with the memorandum in place, US investors will have greater access to financial instruments that track the performance of Taiwanese companies.
The ISE notes that Taiwan bourse’s benchmark TAIEX index posted gains during the first quarter of 2008. Several additional Taiwan-related ETFs or indices may be added later this year for trading on ISE’s options exchange and on the ISE Stock Exchange. Both exchanges believe that the agreement will contribute to their further growth and stimulate active trading of securities that have Taiwanese-based component companies.
“US-based investors are beginning to see the value of investing into Taiwan,” said Dr Wu in a statement. “For the benefit of the index trading community, Taiwan Stock Exchange has made reforms and improvement in its trading environment to align with international practices. Building an alliance with the ISE will help stimulate the development of ETFs for both exchanges.”
Katz added that ISE views the memorandum as an important first step in developing options on leading indices and ETFs related to Taiwan. “The MOU will also enable us to expand the international ETFs that will be traded on the ISE Stock Exchange and creates a strong foundation to foster closer ties and cooperation between our two exchanges,” he said.