CME to launch Asian stock index futures in Q1 '06 Mon Oct 10, 2005 09:13 PM ET SHANGHAI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange plans to launch a new futures contract that will track an index of stocks traded in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, the CME said on Tuesday. The contract, slated to be launched on the U.S. exchange's electronic trading platform in the first quarter of 2006, would be based on Standard and Poor's Asia 50 Index, the exchange said in a statement. The CME hopes to attract more trading volume with new products that build on growing financial markets in other regions, such as Asia, chief executive Craig Donohue said during a visit to Shanghai last month. Record trading volumes boosted second quarter profits for the exchange's parent, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , by 43 percent.
hmmm........dunno about this one, i think it will be illiquid in asia/pac hours because they already have there own hedging instruments and i think it will be illiquid during US hours because asia/pac are all asleep.
CME needs to show HIGHER revenue! Maybe they can engineer an Asian bird-flu virus futures contract soon? Wonder what the volume on that would be?