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The international derivatives exchange Eurex is expanding its European equity option offering, introducing eleven options on Austrian equities on 10 September: Boehler-Uddeholm, Betandwin, Erste Bank, Immoeast, ÖMV, Raiffeisenbank, RHI, Telekom Austria, Verbundgesellschaft, Voestalpine and Wienerberger. With the exception of Immoeast, all of the underlying shares are listed in the Austrian blue chip index ATX. The new options will complement the ten single stock futures on selected Austrian equities that have been listed since 2006.
The new options represent a further step towards the coverage of main European markets. Demand for the new options will come from fund managers and proprietary traders, as well as from issuers of warrants and certificates.
The contract specifications are the same as those for the existing German equity options. A contract comprises 100 shares, and is offered with a maturity of up to 24 months. Eurex is waiving the trading fees until the end of November 2007. At the same time, a market-making model for Austrian equity options will support liquidity from the outset. Participants can also settle transactions executed off-exchange using the OTC functions offered by Eurex Clearing AG.
