Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, has signed a major agreement to license a suite of indexes from investment services firm MSCI in Asia and Emerging Markets, for the introduction of futures and options contracts in Hong Kong.
The introduction of the 37 futures and options contracts remain subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions. HKEX will inform the market of the launch dates of the contracts and provide detailed product specifications once the launch dates have been confirmed.
This agreement will notably expand HKEX’s existing relationship with MSCI, following the successful launch of MSCI Asia Ex-Japan Index futures, and last year’s joint announcement on the planned launch of MSCI China A Index futures. This agreement further anchors HKEX and MSCI’s commitment to the global trading community and to their long-term product development and innovation programme in the region.
Charles Li, chief executive, HKEX says: “This is very exciting news indeed for Hong Kong and HKEX. As the global markets leader in the Asian timezone, and reflecting our unique role connecting markets and investors across the world, we are very pleased to today be announcing this major agreement with MSCI. Bringing enhanced liquidity to our markets, this builds on our stated strategy and our 2019 commitment to launch MSCI China A index futures in Hong Kong. It comes at a time when Hong Kong’s derivatives market is going from strength to strength and represents another significant development in continuing to build the breadth, depth and attractiveness of Hong Kong’s vibrant financial markets.”
Henry Fernandez, chairman and chief executive officer at MSCI, adds: “MSCI’s mission as a provider of tools, services and insights for the global investment industry is to help investors around the world better understand and navigate investment opportunities and risks. As we continue to see increasing demand from global investors in enhancing their risk management capabilities, we are pleased to license HKEX to use our indexes for this expansive suite of new trading and risk management tools for global investors.”
