Trading in the new options will be supported by Euronext.liffe's existing liquidity providers' scheme. This means that bid and ask prices for all option classes in each series are continuously displayed on screen. A fee holiday will be applied until 30 September 2003, and a special trading and clearing fee scheme will be introduced until the end of 2004. This makes Euronext.liffe the world's cheapest exchange for options on German stocks.
Hugh Freedberg, Chief Executive of Euronext.liffe, said: "In response to demand mainly from our Dutch customers who wish to trade these heavily-traded German equity options at a lower cost for large transactions, we will list options on the DAX constituents on our SWITCH platform, supported by market makers and cleared through Clearnet, Euronext's clearing house and central counterparty. In addition, we will soon be offering a mutual access facility so that our SWITCH customers can trade all our products on LIFFE CONNECT™ and vice versa.
This, together with the programme of initiatives we are introducing for the French equity options market, is aimed at further improving the liquidity and quality of pricing and giving our customers enhanced trading opportunities."
Euronext.liffe is the largest equity options market in the world, trading 43 million contracts during the first two months of this year and offers the widest range of European options on stocks, listing options on Belgian, Dutch, French, Finnish, German, Portuguese and UK stocks.
Euronext.liffe is delivering a seamless cross-border market for all its derivatives products traded on LIFFE CONNECT™ and on SWITCH. From 14 April 2003, all of Euronext.liffe derivative products traded in Belgium, France and the UK will be available on LIFFE CONNECT™, and shortly a mutual access program will facilitate trading between SWITCH and LIFFE CONNECT™.
