CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) has been approved as a Registered Market Operator (RMO) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
CFE may now allow professional investors, accredited investors and expert investors, as defined under Singaporean law, to become CFE Trading Privilege Holders (TPHs) and access CFE’s market directly.
A growing number of market participants from outside the US are trading CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) futures, which trade on CFE nearly 24 hours, five days a week.
In addition to offering VIX futures in non-US trading hours, direct access to CFE’s market in Singapore enables CFE to further expand its customer outreach in Asia and is expected to provide more investors with greater efficiency to trade and hedge with CFE’s products.
“Singapore is the gateway to the Asian investment community, and the country has worked to establish itself as a key futures trading hub. Expanding customer outreach in the region and providing Asian customers with new opportunities to trade our products is a top priority for CFE and CBOE,” says Andy Lowenthal, senior vice president, business development, Chicago Board Options Exchange.
Direct connection to CFE through foreign jurisdiction approval provides international futures commission merchants (FCMs) with a more cost-effective and convenient way to transact VIX futures orders on CFE. CBOE plans to seek jurisdictional approval in additional countries in Asia and around the world as it continues to broaden its global reach.
In June, CFE received approval in Taiwan to have the VIX futures (VX/VXT) contract designated as an eligible foreign futures contract for Taiwanese traders. Any Taiwanese FCM may become a CFE TPH and conduct trading in VIX futures.
Foreign jurisdiction approval in Singapore follows two major CBOE initiatives to broaden customer reach in Asia. After a debut in 2015, CBOE plans to host a second Risk Management Conference Asia in Hong Kong this November. In December 2015, CBOE collaborated with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to launch The CBOE Options Institute at SGX—the first extension of CBOE’s educational facility.
