Press

Deutsche Börse, the leading European exchange organization and operator of the German stock market, and Eurex, the world’s largest derivatives market, are together with the Swedish Securities Dealers Association and main Swedish market participants exploring ways to provide a segment for derivatives on Swedish underlyings on the Eurex trading platform. The partners made the announcement on Monday following a series of concrete discussions over the lasts weeks.

Current plans foresee that trading in derivatives will be executed through the Eurex trading platform and network thus making Swedish products available to all Eurex members. Product specifications as well as rules and regulations for trading will be determined in a Swedish working committee of Swedish banks and securities companies and Eurex. The partners target to start trading in the second quarter of the year 2001. The new project for the Swedish market follows the model that was together with Helsinki Exchanges successfully established for the Finnish market in September 1999.

Jörg Franke, CEO of Eurex and Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse said: “The advantages of such co-operations are striking: Swedish derivatives would be exposed to the li-quidity in the Eurex network and we could offer Eurex members a wider product range. We appreciate the initiative from Swedish market participants and we are looking forward to realise this model for other markets.”

Per-Ola Jansson, Managing Director of the Swedish Securities Dealers Association said: “The move by Deutsche Börse and Eurex to support our initiative is a sign of the new era of more business oriented and competitive environment in which various service providers within the securities industry is operating. It is only natural that service providers offers their services cross-border in a European community where we experience more and more liberalisation of movements of capital and investment services.”