Hong Kong Futures Exchange: Capital Adjustments To Microsoft Futures And Options On Microsoft Futures

Hong Kong Futures Exchange, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), will make capital adjustments to its Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) Futures and its Options on Microsoft Futures on 18 February 2003 (Hong Kong Time) as a result of a two-for-one stock split. The ex-split date, which is the date when Microsoft common stock will be traded on Nasdaq at the new split-adjusted price, will be 18 February 2003 (New York Time). The details of the capital adjustments are as follows.

Microsoft Futures Contract

Immediately before the market opening in Hong Kong on 18 February 2003:

1. The contract multiplier of all outstanding positions in the Microsoft Futures Contract will be adjusted from 100 shares to 200 shares; and
2. The contracted prices of all outstanding positions in the Microsoft Futures Contract will be multiplied by 0.5 and rounded to the nearest two decimal places.

In 18 February 2003 Hong Kong trading:

1. The Adjusted Microsoft Futures Contract will be traded under the temporary code MSA until the expiration of the existing February, March, April, June and September 2003 contracts respectively or until all outstanding positions in any contract month of both futures and corresponding options in the same contract month are closed, whichever occurs first. Contract months without outstanding positions will be suspended for trading only if there is also no outstanding position in the options contract of the same month; and
2. The contract months for the Microsoft Futures Contract with the original contract multiplier of 100 shares, under the original trading symbol MSF, will be February, March, April, June and September 2003.

Options on Microsoft Futures Contract

Immediately before the market opening in Hong Kong on 18 February 2003, the strike prices of all Options on the Microsoft Futures Contract will be multiplied by 0.5 and rounded to the nearest two decimal places.

In 18 February 2003 Hong Kong trading:

1. Adjusted Options on the Microsoft Futures Contract will be traded under the temporary code MSA until the expiration of the existing February, March, April, June and September 2003 contracts respectively or until all outstanding positions in any contract month are closed, whichever occurs first, while contract months without outstanding positions will be suspended for trading; and
2. The contract months for Options on the Microsoft Futures Contract with the original contract multiplier of 100 shares under the original trading symbol MSF will be February, March, April, June and September 2003.

After the capital adjustments of all outstanding positions in the Microsoft Futures Contract and Options on Microsoft Futures Contract, there will be two sets of the Microsoft Futures Contract and Options on the Microsoft Futures Contract. Specifically, the adjusted contract with the trading symbol MSA and the standard contract with the trading symbol MSF will be available for trading in parallel on HKATS, the Hong Kong Futures Automated Trading System. The adjusted contract and the standard contract are distinct contracts with contract multipliers of 200 and 100 new split-adjusted shares of Microsoft respectively.

Investors should consult their brokers for further details of the capital adjustments to the Microsoft Futures Contract and Options on the Microsoft Futures Contract.