The first foreign securities to be traded in Japan using the Japanese Depositary Receipt (JDRs) scheme will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) on 23 August.
The iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures JDR and the iPath S&P GSCI Total Return Index JDR are based on exchange-traded notes (ETNs) managed by broker Barclays Capital.
The S&P 500 VIX Index is calculated based on the fluctuations of prices in S&P 500 put and call options contracts. As such, the index rises if the market fluctuates significantly and declines if the market is sluggish.
The S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures Index Total Return measures the return from a daily rolling long position in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh month VIX futures contracts.
The S&P GSCI Total Return Index is composed of commodities from 24 sectors, including energy, precious metals, and agricultural products. The index is calculated primarily on a world production-weighted basis and is comprised of the principal physical commodities that are the subject of active, liquid futures markets.
A further seven JDRs based on S&P commodities indexes are expected to be listed on 6 September.
The TSE says that it will continue working to diversify the exchange-traded fund market and promote the listing of other new financial instruments such as ETNs.