Floor Members Vote To Completely Close The SFE Trading Floor - SFE To Go Around The World And Around The Clock

Floor Members of the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) have today (October 28) voted in favour of completely closing the Trading Floor and moving to a fully electronic trading platform. The 26 voting Floor Members made the decision this afternoon at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The move will end 39 years of colourful open outcry trading and ushers in a new era of efficiencies for SFE, its Members and customers. The last day of Floor trading will be Friday, 12 November 1999. From Monday, 15 November, all SFE's futures and options products, which last year amounted to 30 million in trading volume and A$10.5 trillion in value, will be exchanged on its SYCOM® IV (Sydney Computerised Market) electronic system. Mr Leslie Hosking, SFE Chief Executive, said: "A fully electronic SFE means an SFE that is around the world and around the clock. The Exchange will no longer be limited in the number of market makers it can draw upon because electronic trading helps override the difficulties of Australia's distance from other financial centres and relatively small population. "We can now set up our SYCOM® IV trading terminals in the world's key financial centres and give international customers direct access to our market. Our products can be distributed globally, attracting new participants, improving market liquidity and depth, thereby benefiting all market users." Today's decision follows the result of an EGM on 26 August which voted in favour of partially closing the Floor by transferring Share Price Index (SPI®) futures and options contracts and individual share futures to SYCOM® IV on 4 October. SYCOM® IV is the latest generation of the electronic trading system introduced by SFE in 1989 as the world's first after hours electronic trading platform. SYCOM® IV is already the sole trading platform for all SFE's equity and commodity products, and for the overnight trading of its interest rate and government debt contracts. It is also the trading system used by the New Zealand Futures and Options Exchange, an SFE subsidiary. SFE began operations in 1960 as the Sydney Greasy Wool Futures Exchange and soon after established itself as the world's leading wool futures market. Today it is the Asia Pacific's largest financial futures and options exchange and now, by embracing electronic trading, SFE is positioned to continue at the forefront of Australia's quest to be a global financial centre.