Japancross Securities To Commence Operations

JapanCross Securities Co., Ltd., an independent broker dealer created by a 50:50 joint venture between Instinet Corporation (Instinet) and Nikko Salomon Smith Barney (NSSB) announced today that it has obtained a proprietary trading system (PTS) license from the Financial Services Agency and has been approved for operation. JapanCross will launch its off-exchange crossing system for Japanese equities on Wednesday, November 28, 2001, enabling domestic and overseas institutional investors to trade Japanese equities. The Company will draw on the unique strengths of its parents, Instinet's crossing expertise and NSSB's global distribution network, to ensure its success.

"JapanCross is extremely proud to introduce our innovative trading platform to the Japanese equity market," said George E. Thomas, JapanCross Securities' Representative Director & Chief Executive Officer. "We are committed to providing customers with an effective alternative in their quest for best execution." JapanCross is an agency-only broker that focuses liquidity at specific times during the day, then matches buyers and sellers anonymously at benchmark prices.

"Our system is easy to use, requires only basic order information and offers executions at prevailing market-determined prices." added Mr. Thomas. JapanCross' first product will be a pre-open VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) cross on stocks listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section. Clients can place orders, through a variety of methods, anytime prior to 7:55 AM JST and will be notified of crossed shares by 8:15 AM JST. Immediately following the market close, JapanCross will issue customized execution reports based on the official VWAP of the day. JapanCross plans to offer additional crosses in the future.

JapanCross gives domestic and overseas institutions investing in Japanese equities access to a valuable service that has been embraced by markets around the world.