The Securities and Futures Commission has approved Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited’s (HKEx) proposed introduction of three long-dated contract months in H-shares Index Options and three additional long-dated contract months in Hang Seng Index (HSI) Options. The six long-dated contract months will be rolled out on 31 March this year.

The initiative is in response to numerous indications of interest from institutional investors and investment banks for index options with longer maturities to match index options’ trading profile in the over-the-counter, or OTC, markets.  Long-dated options provide professional investors and other investors with exchange-traded tools for taking long-term positions and managing long-term market risks in the Hong Kong- and Mainland-related equity markets. In addition, exchange-traded long-dated options with the clearing house as central counterparty can help investors to better manage their counterparty risks.

For further details, please see the 16 February news release, HKEx Plans to Offer More Long-dated Index Options, at: http://www.hkex.com.hk/eng/newsconsul/hkexnews/2006/0602162news.htm.

For the latest information on HSI Options and H-shares Index Options, including contract specifications, please see: http://www.hkex.com.hk/eng/prod/drprod/dmproducts.htm.

For information on HKEx’s derivatives market, please visit the HKEx website.