HKFE To Implement Proposals To Enhance Transparency On The Trading Floor

The Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKFE) said today that the Exchange's Board of Directors and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have approved regulations to implement the following two proposals to enhance transparency on the trading floor: 1.Members are required to install recording devices on all telephones at booths on the trading floor, ensure that all communications on the telephones are recorded and maintain the recordings as part of their records for at least 3 months; and 2.Untaped mobile communications devices that can receive and transmit messages outside the trading hall are banned on the trading floor, and Members are to ensure their Member Representatives and staff comply with the regulation. The proposals will become effective on Friday, 19 November to allow Members time to install the appropriate recording facilities. Both proposals are part of the Exchange's five-point plan to enhance transparency, which was introduced on 11 October. The rest of the plan comprises: The deployment of additional resources for the surveillance of cross-trades (implemented in October); An enhanced price reporting system (under review by theFloor Conduct Committee); and New market-opening procedures (under review by the Floor Conduct Committee). "The implementation of these proposals reinforces the clear message of the five-point plan: The Hong Kong Futures Exchange is committed to transparency," Chief Executive Ivers Riley said. "They also reinforce market participants' confidence in the Exchange as we prepare for the migration of Hang Seng Index Futures and Options from the trading floor to HKATS." The Hong Kong Futures Exchange is a leading futures and options market place in the Asia Pacific Region, with a membership of over 130 companies, including a number of major international institutions. The Exchange is actively diversifying its product base, which now includes currency, interest rate and equity-based products.