Deutsche Börse Launches Neuer Markt Blue Chip Index on July 1

Deutsche Börse AG is launching the Neuer Markt Blue Chip Index on July 1. The index comprises the top 50 companies in the Neuer Markt. Analogous to the other Deutsche Börse indices, the selection criteria on which the index composition is based are market capitalization and share turnover. German as well as foreign companies can be included in the index. To be included in the index, a company has to rank among the top 60 Neuer Markt companies in terms of share turnover and market capitalization in line with the so called 60/60 rule. No one company can have more than a 10 percent weighting in the Neuer Markt Blue Chip index. In the meantime, 115 companies with a market capitalization of about 47 billion EURO are quoted in the Neuer Markt. The new index is targeted to institutional investors in particular who track indices with their portfolio. It can also serve as an underlying instrument for derivatives. The index will give private investors a new basis for their investment decisions. The composition of the new Blue Chip Index will be revised semi-annually. Companies in the index will be replaced, if necessary, on the index chaining dates in March or September, the first time will be in March 2000. The index weighting adjustment will be made on a quarterly basis, analogous to the share indices of Deutsche Börse. The index will be calculated as both a price index and a performance index. The base date for the index is December 30, 1997, with a value of 1,000