Mr. Orgler was elected unanimously by the IOMA members, leaders of the options markets worldwide, who participated in the association's annual conference in June. This year's conference was held in Israel and organized by the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
IOMA, founded in 1983, includes 50 member derivatives exchanges worldwide. At the Tel Aviv conference, the International Securities Exchange and the Mexico Derivatives Exchange were accepted as new members.
The current president of IOMA, Gerald Lacoste of the Montreal Exchange, lauded the election of Mr. Orgler and noted that the Tel Aviv Exchange incorporates the world's most advanced trading technologies. Trading in options on the TA 25 Index has tripled since the automation of derivatives trading on the TASE in October last year. Presently, average trading volume is over 110,000 index options.
A report presented at the IOMA annual conference showed that automated trading systems attracted a larger share of worldwide trading volume. In 1999, 40% of total derivatives trading volume was executed on automated exchanges compared with only 26% in 1998. This represented fully three-quarters of the trading volume in options on equity indices on these exchanges.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, founded in 1953, is owned by its 28 member firms and is regulated by the Israel Securities Authority. The Exchange provides a highly advanced electronic trading system for shares, bonds, Treasury bills and derivatives. All trades are cleared and settled by the TASE Clearing House. The TASE offers international investors a combination of attractive investment opportunities and a full complement of market services, including an elaborate and user-friendly website at www.tase.co.il.
