Asia Pacific Exchange (APEX), a new derivatives exchange and clearinghouse, based in Singapore, has gone live with core functions operating on technology from the Cinnober Group.
APEX’s independent clearinghouse, Asia Pacific Clear Pte Ltd, runs on Cinnober’s TRADExpress RealTime Clearing, a comprehensive real-time clearing system for OTC and exchange-traded markets. Irisium, a subsidiary within the Cinnober Group and leading provider of market surveillance and analytical software for financial organisations, provides APEX’s market surveillance system. Using Irisium’s platform, APEX will be able to identify in real time and investigate manipulative and suspicious trading behaviours.
The first contract to trade on APEX is the USD-denominated physically-delivered Palm Olein Futures contract. Other products that the exchange plans to offer include futures and options contracts covering both commodity and financial derivatives products, including agriculture, energy, petrochemical, metal, interest rates and stock indices.
“APEX’s vision is to establish itself as an exchange that will be the Asian centre for price benchmarks to be referenced by global market participants,” says Eugene Zhu Yuchen, the company’s founder and CEO. “A fair and orderly market reflects genuine demands and supplies. We believe that through the close cooperation with Cinnober and Irisium, APEX is able to provide a fair, transparent and regulated trading venue to all participants.”
“We are very proud to now be live with our real-time clearing solution and surveillance platform also in Singapore,” says Veronica Augustsson, CEO of Cinnober Group. “It’s a pleasure and privilige to be part of APEX setting up of a new derivatives market, and being able to contribute with our real-time technology and joint expertise and know how across Cinnober and Irisium within post-trade services and market surveillance.”
APEX is Singapore’s third derivatives exchange after Singapore Exchange Ltd and Intercontinental Exchange. At launch, APEX had six clearing members. APEX Clear is established in accordance with international standards.
Palm oil is the world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil, found in goods such as ice cream, instant noodles and lipstick. Indonesia and Malaysia are the world’s top producers of the agricultural commodity, and futures on crude palm oil are most actively traded at Bursa Malaysia Derivatives. There are no major futures derivatives on refined palm oil.