Change In SWX Trading Hours And Trading Calendar, Effective 25 June 2001

virt-x, the first pan-European blue chip platform, will commence trading on 25 June 2001. The SMI stocks traded so far on the SWX Swiss Exchange will be traded exclusively on virt-x from that date. The SWX Management Board has therefore decided to extend trading hours to 6 pm (along the lines of virt-x) from 25 June for the following products listed and traded on SWX:

• Equity Securities (primary and secondary listings)
• Derivative Instruments
• Exchange Traded Funds

The new trading hours can be accessed on our webpage http://www.swx.com from 25 June onwards.

The SWX Management Board has also defined non-business days (along the lines of virt-x) in accordance with the Target calendar http://www.ecb.int as follows:

• 1 January
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• 1 May
• 25 December
• 26 December

New Year's Eve will continue to be a non-business day.

For the products listed above, this means that the following Swiss public holidays will no longer be applicable: 2 January, Ascension, Whit Monday, 1 August (there will be trading on these days, but they are not value dates for CHF). The short trading day before Ascension will not apply either (starting in 2002).

Fixed income products are not affected by these changes in trading hours and the trading calendar. Similarly, SWX business hours from 6 am - 10 pm CET will stay the same after 25 June 2001.