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"Providing a translated version of our Web site into Chinese is another step toward educating markets in China about futures trading and CME products and services,” said CME Chairman Terry Duffy. “Asia represents enormous opportunity, and the rapid pace of economic expansion in China since its decision to move toward a market economy has been significant.”
“CME believes that the continued expansion of China’s economy may be achieved by more aggressively advancing the growth of China’s financial futures markets,” added CME Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue. “Futures and options contracts will provide Chinese banks, corporations and financial institutions with valuable hedging and risk management tools.”
Highlights of the new Web site include the following:
- CME product information – including contract specifications for CME® E-mini™ products, S&P 500®, NASDAQ-100®, CME Eurodollar, commodity products and six foreign exchange products;
- Information about CME, including an historic timeline and CME news and events, CME Globex® electronic trading and basic futures information; and,
- Reuters Financial News – Daily news regarding futures and the futures industry will be provided in real-time 24 hours each day in Chinese.
CME currently offers portions of its Web site in five other languages, including French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.
In addition to the launch of the Chinese Web site, CME has announced a number of key international initiatives in the past 12 months.
- The exchange signed Memorandums of Understanding with the ChinaForeign Exchange Trading System & National Interbank Funding Center in June 2004 and Shanghai Stock Exchange in March 2005 to create forums for information sharing between the organizations regarding the potential development of derivatives products in China.
- Arman Falsafi was appointed Managing Director, Europe and Asia in July 2004. She previously managed the CME Globex electronic trading platform. The exchange also appointed Nicholas T.M. Bolton as Director, Asia-Pacific earlier this year.
- To better serve its Asia-Pacific customer base and further expand global access to its markets, CME announced earlier this year that it plans to establish its first Asian-based telecommunications hub in Singapore in the second quarter of 2005. In 2004, CME launched six telecommunications hubs in Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Gibraltar, Milan and Paris to substantially reduce connectivity fees for market users, in addition to its inaugural hub installed in London in 2002.
- CME introduced a number of incentive programs targeting traders in Europe and Asia during the past year, including the European and Asian Incentive Programs, Electronic Corporate Membership and a new tiered fee structure that provides incentives to high-volume customers trading CME Eurodollar futures.
- In January 2004, CME became the first non-Australian exchange to be licensed under the new Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act, allowing it to begin providing direct access to CME Globex and products traded on CME Globex to Australian market participants.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is the largest futures exchange in the United States. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on CME Globex® electronic trading platform and on its trading floor. CME offers futures and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange moved about $1.5 billion per day in settlement payments in 2004 and managed $44.1 billion in collateral deposits as of Dec. 31, 2004, including $3.1 billion in deposits for non-CME products. CME is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CME), which is part of the Russell 1000® Index.
