Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) announced today (Thursday) that the stabilisation period for the Derivatives Clearing and Settlement System (DCASS) has ended.

The two-week stabilisation period, which began on 6 April, was a prudent measure to ensure that both the clearing houses and their participants were well prepared in the unlikely event that fallback arrangements had to be triggered. DCASS has operated smoothly and no such fallback arrangements were required during the stabilisation period.

The successful introduction of DCASS enables HKEx to implement new market initiatives with a shorter lead-time. The new system will help reduce Participants' operating costs as hardware, equipment and network facilities can be shared between trading and clearing operations.  The market also benefits from PRiME (Portfolio Risk Margining System of HKEx), the new margining sub-system introduced with DCASS for use with all futures and options contracts. PRiME provides a prudent and equitable assessment of the risks and margin requirements of derivatives market participants and thus facilitate better risk management for the derivatives market.

"The launch of DCASS has been very smooth and successful.  This would not be possible without the efforts and cooperation of Participants and the dedication of our staff to this project," said HKEx chief executive Paul Chow. "DCASS has further strengthened our market infrastructure and its introduction has marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the derivatives market of Hong Kong."