Osaka Securities Exchange: About Open Interest For Nikkei 225 Options

Osaka Securities Exchange Co., Ltd. (OSE) is pleased to announce that the open interest for Nikkei 225 Options was 3,011,587 units (preliminary estimates) today, exceeding 3 million units for the first time since the launch date, June 12, 1989.

It is due to the increase of needs for hedge trading, change in financial circumstances such as the shift from OTC trading (off-exchange trading) to exchange trading in order to minimize the counterparty risk.

Also OSE has extended trading hours, introduced long-term contracts ^(*) for Nikkei 225 Options, launched its new derivative trading system "J-GATE" to cope with the change in financial circumstances and market participants' needs.

OSE will continue to aim to improve convenience of market participants.

(*) Five year contracts (the longest) introduced in September 2008. Before the introduction, the longest contract was 15 months.

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Osaka Securities Exchange: About Open Interest For Nikkei 225 Options - Exceeding 3 Million Units