SGX AsiaClear® Launches Half-Day OTC Forward Freight Agreement Contracts

Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) announced today that SGX AsiaClear® will launch the clearing of Half-Day over-the-counter (OTC) Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) contracts on Wednesday, 28 November 2007 in response to Asian market demand.

These Half-Day FFA Contracts, which cover Dry Bulk Capesize, Panamax and Supramax Time Charter Baskets, are similar to their respective Full-Day FFA contracts currently offered for clearing on AsiaClear except that the contract size is halved. With these contracts, market participants can now clear the exact equivalent of their half-month, half-quarter and half-calendar Time Charter Basket FFAs.

“SGX AsiaClear’s OTC market grew by over 50% in value cleared to US$1.37 billion in the third quarter of 2007, compared to the previous quarter. These Half-Day FFA contracts will further enhance AsiaClear's suite of Dry Bulk FFAs, giving FFA users the flexibility they need for their trading and hedging. We expect that these unique FFA products will spur higher FFA trading and clearing activity on SGX AsiaClear,” said Mr Benjamin Foo, SGX Head of Clearing and Commodities Business and AsiaClear.

“We welcome the launch of the clearing of Half-Day FFA contracts by SGX AsiaClear. It will facilitate quick and efficient trading without the risk and sometimes lengthy negotiations involved in rounding up or down a position,” said Mr Jeffrey Yao, Vice President, Pioneer Freight Futures.