Today's announcement is the result of the agreement signed last June between Amex and SGX to create a joint venture for the trading of ETFs in the Asian time zone. Under the agreement, a Singaporean joint venture company owned equally by both exchanges is being created to promote the listing and trading of ETFs and HOLDRS.
"This launch will mark the first global and fungible ETF trading network. It will provide both retail and institutional investors with their first opportunity to trade ETFs across the North American and Asian time zones," said Salvatore F. Sodano, Amex chairman and chief executive officer.
Thomas A. Kloet, chief executive officer of SGX said, "ETFs will benefit investors in the Asia-Pacific region with a low-cost and efficient way to access the important market and sector indices of global and regional interest. The offering of such a diverse and exciting array of products is in line with our strategy of diversifying our product range."
SGX will list and trade the following products:
- S&P 500 SPDRs®
- DJIA DIAMONDS
- iSharesSM S&P 500 Index Fund
- iSharesSM MSCI Singapore Index Fund
- iSharesSM S&P Europe 350 Index Fund
- iShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology Sector Index Fund
- Internet Architecture HOLDRSSM
- Biotech HOLDRSSM
- Europe 2001 HOLDRSSM
The products will be cleared and settled through the coordinated efforts of the Depository Trust Company (DTC) and The Central Depository (CDP), SGX's subsidiary responsible for securities clearing, settlement and depository services. The Amex and SGX ETF trading network is fungible, meaning that an investor can buy an ETF or HOLDRS in Singapore and sell it in the US, and vice versa. CDP maintains an account with its counterpart in the US, DTC, facilitating the cross-border transfers of ETFs or HOLDRS between CDP and DTC Participants. The settlement period for ETFs is T+3.
