CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE), the holding company for Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE), is planning to add options on the FTSE 100 Index and the FTSE China 50 Index to its offering. The intentions were voiced by CBOE Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer Edward T. Tilly at CBOE’s Risk Management Conference Asia (RMC) in Hong Kong.
The new index options, which will offer exposure to leading stocks in the UK and China, are set to start trading on December 22, 2015.
The options are based on mini versions of the FTSE 100 Index, a market-capitalization weighted index of 100 UK-listed blue chip companies traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and the FTSE China 50 Index, a real-time tradable index comprising 50 of the largest Chinese stocks, traded on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK).
The listing of the new instruments is a part of a licensing agreement sealed by CBOE and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in February this year. The agreement made CBOE the exclusive U.S. provider of options on more than two dozen LSEG-owned FTSE Russell indexes. It also envisaged that the two companies will partner on the development of additional index options products and investor education.
In October this year, CBOE launched options on three Russell large-cap indexes: the Russell 1000® Index, the Russell 1000® Value Index and the Russell 1000® Growth Index.
CBOE Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer Edward T. Tilly said,
“We are pleased to expand our customer offerings with these new global index options. Institutional and other investors use both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE China 50 as key performance benchmarks. The FTSE 100 Index also is used as a performance measure by index-tracking funds and derivatives, and the FTSE China 50 was designed specifically for international investors seeking to gain exposure to Chinese equity markets.”
Ron Bundy, CEO North America Benchmarks for FTSE Russell indexes, added,
“It is very exciting to continue to grow our relationship with the CBOE, offering traders and investors increasing access to our full range of U.S. and global benchmarks. We believe the most recent introduction by CBOE helps illustrate the value to clients in working with a true global index provider.”
The official announcement from CBOE Holdings can be viewed by clicking here.