Tel Aviv Stock Exchange To Run Real-Time Y2k Compliance Test

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange announced that it will conduct a final Y2K compliance test on Sunday, January 2, 2000.The Exchange is closed next Sunday, which normally would be a business day in Israel. Trading will resume Monday, January 3. The test will include a simulation of trading by the Exchange's member firms, which will route simulated orders for equities and derivatives into the Tel Aviv Continuous Trading (TACT) system. The TACT is the Exchange's state-of-the-art electronic platform for trading all securities and derivative products. The TASE will disseminate the simulated-trading data to data vendors and member firms to ensure that the Exchange's data communication systems are Y2K compliant as well. Dov Vigdorovich, manager of the TASE's Y2K Project, said the TASE is fully Y2K-compliant. "A series of tests, conducted throughout the year, has ended successfully," Mr. Vigdorovich said. "The final trading simulation will enable us to retest our state of readiness in real time." "The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange long ago recognized the need to ensure that trading would continue seamlessly through the New Year," said Ester Levanon, head of the TASE Computers and Operations department. "Domestic and international investors should be advised that we have done our utmost to ensure that trading proceeds unhindered as the year 2000 starts." The Exchange has prepared a contingency plan if telecommunication or energy systems fail. The Exchange's trading floors, which closed last October when trading on the bourse became fully electronic, have been outfitted with TACT trading terminals. Should member firms be unable to conduct trading as usual because of external difficulties, the member firms will route orders from the Exchange's on-site terminals directly into the TACT system. In addition, the TASE has refurbished and tested its emergency generators and UPS units should external energy supplies fail. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, founded in 1953, is owned by its 28 member firms and is regulated by the Israel Securities Authority. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange provides a highly advanced electronic trading systems 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.