Press

The international derivatives exchange Eurex will further extend its product offering by introducing 13 new equity options on Belgian, Dutch, French and Spanish underlyings. The new options will be launched on 19 May.
Peter Reitz, member of the Eurex Board, said: “Eurex is continuing to expand its position as the leading equity options exchange and the most liquid and transparent marketplace in Europe. With more than 200 equity options from ten countries and in three different currencies together with about 570 single stock futures, we offer our customers comprehensive trading opportunities.”

The Belgian equity options suite will be extended with six new options on Belgacom S.A., Delhaize Group S.A., INBEV S.A., KBC NV, UCB S.A. and Umicore S.A. The French segment will grow by two options on Essilor and Unibail-Rodamco SIIC, the Dutch segment by an option on Corio N.V. Four new Spanish options will be based on Acerinox S.A., ACS, Banco Popular Español S.A. and Industria de Diseño Textil S.A. The contract specifications of the new options are analogous to the existing equity options. As of 1 June, the new options will also be included in the market-making program of Eurex which is in place for all existing equity options.

The extension aims to further facilitate the growth of the European segment. After the launch, Eurex will almost completely cover the domestic indices CAC40 (France) and AEX (Netherlands).

The French equity option segment on Eurex recorded a volume of over 45,000 contracts in March 2008, corresponding with a market share of nearly 30 percent. The Spanish segment has steadily grown since introduction in November 2006.