WDX Organisation Ltd. (“WDX”), the owner and distributor of the real time WocuTM world currency unit quotation, is delighted to announce the signing of a non-exclusive Agreement (“Agreement”) with the Warsaw-based Polish Futures Market S.A. (“PRT” - Polski Rynek Terminowy Spolka Akcyjna), a wholly owned subsidiary of WGT S.A.(Warsaw Commodities Exchange -“WGT”).
The Agreement provides for the listing of Wocu Futures and Options by the PRT. These key derivative products are expected to enable financial market participants to utilise the Wocu and its unique risk reducing, currency balancing characteristics in depth. In addition, use of the Wocu is expected to complement the PRT listings of other financial and commodity instruments.
WGT operates one of the largest exchange based spot commodity markets in Europe. It recently set up the privately-owned PRT exchange to take advantage of the changes to the Polish financial services regulations, bringing it into line with the Europe-wide Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) directives now effective in Poland. WGT have been operating since 1995, settling and clearing exchange-based financial futures and options contracts in the Central and Eastern European Emerging Market space. PRT intends to create a European-wide, regulated market for the trading of exchange-based financial instruments based on Central Counterparty Clearing from this geography.
PRT currently has an application for Recognised Market status pending with the Polish Regulatory Authority (Komisjia Nadzoru Finansowego) and, whilst awaiting this, is in the process of creating a new set of financial instruments based on the Wocu which will complement the existing exchange-based financial instruments for both the financial and commodity markets.
Michal Jerzak, President of the Management Board of the WGT, commented, “We believe this new range of Wocu based products will revolutionise the manner in which financial instruments and commodities are priced and will give the existing financial markets an alternative manner in which to carry out their risk transfer operations.” He added, “The addition of the Wocu based products and attainment of recognised market status under Polish MiFID-compliant law will allow PRT to become a pan-European exchange, and, when combined with the highly qualified human resources available in Poland, should soon make the PRT the Pan European market of choice for our geography.”
Michael King, MD of WDX Organisation Ltd., said; “With the founding of the PRT and this Agreement to employ the Wocu, WGT has signalled the next stage in their successful story. WGT will not only be one of Europe’s largest exchange based commodity markets, as now, but is expected to be the first exchange to offer Wocu futures and options, and Wocu denominated commodity contracts. We look forward to working with the PRT to realise the Agreement’s potential. This prospective provision of Wocu based futures and options instruments takes us to the next stage in building the Wocu’s value, enhancing the value of and building on our focus on commodity pricing, such as the Bunker Fuel pricing agreement of this year.”