The Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) today launched eight new derivative contracts – a New Taiwan Dollar (TWD)-denominated TOPIX futures contract, the first-ever foreign equity index futures contract to be introduced in Taiwan, and seven ETF options, the first-ever such options contracts to debut in Taiwan.
The TOPIX futures contract tracks the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX), one of the most widely used benchmarks for investment in Japanese stocks. It is the first product to be unveiled as part of the ongoing cooperation between TAIFEX and Japan Exchange Group (JPX) announced in November 2015, which included the signing of an Information Sharing Agreement between TAIFEX and JPX subsidiaries, Osaka Exchange, Inc. and Japan Exchange Regulations.
ETF option contracts are now available for seven ETFs that track Taiwan and China stock indices, namely the Yuanta/P-shares Taiwan Top 50 ETF, W.I.S.E. Yuanta/P- shares CSI 300 ETF, Fubon SSE180 ETF, Yuanta/P-shares SSE50 ETF, Fuh Hwa CSI300 A Shares ETF, Cathay FTSE China A50 ETF, and Fubon SZSE 100 Index ETF. The introduction of ETF options for the first time in Taiwan will further deepen Taiwan’s rapidly growing ETF market and will sit alongside TAIFEX’s popular suite of ETF futures.
The contract size for the TOPIX futures contract is NT$200 per index, while the contract sizes for all seven ETF options is 10,000 beneficial units of the underlying ETF. The TOPIX futures will trade from 8:00am to 4:15pm Taiwan time. ETF options tracking Taiwan-based ETFs and China-based ETFs will trade from 8:45am to 1:45pm Taiwan time and 8:45am to 4:15pm Taiwan time respectively.
Dr. Len-Yu Liu, Chairman of the Taiwan Futures Exchange said: “We are pleased to be launching all new derivatives products that will greatly expand and diversify the investment choices available to investors and which can meet their evolving investment and hedging needs. We look forward to introducing more innovative products in the future.”