Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange successfully launched

19 mei 2011 The world's fastest commodity exchange now fully operational The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx) has been succesfully launched as an automated trading services (ATS) provider. The trading debut took place on May 18, 2011 with trading, post-trade and surveillance technology provided by Cinnober. HKMEx offers market participants, through its member firms, an electronic platform to trade commodities. The Exchange began trading with 18 members, including some of the world's largest financial institutions and trading firms as well as several well-established Hong Kong brokerages. "This trading debut marks a historical milestone while creating a liquid and vibrant international commodities exchange based in Hong Kong, linking China with the rest of Asia and the world," said Barry Cheung, chairman of HKMEx. "Our approach from the beginning of this journey has been to use the most advanced architecture, and the best versatility, functionality and performance of Cinnober's product offerings to enable us to provide best-in-class services to our customers." HKMEx's state-of-the art Pearl® Trading System is based on Cinnober's TRADExpress technology, and the fastest commodity trading platform available today. It allows HKMEx to handle high liquidity and trading volumes on a secure and scalable high-end platform, while providing flexibility for the rapid development of new contracts, services and types of trading. The TRADExpress platform also manages post-trade clearing functionalities, such as giveup, takeup and position transfer. In addition to trading and post-trade capabilities, Cinnober also delivers the exchange's market surveillance tool Scila Surveillance. "I think this launch is of utmost interest since HKMEx is uniquely positioned to create an efficient bridge between mainland China and the international financial community," said Nils-Robert Persson, chairman of Cinnober. "We're proud to have delivered one of the most advanced trading systems in the Asia Pacific region to this high-profile initiative." The first product to be traded at the HKMEx is a 32-troy-ounce gold futures contract offered in US dollars with physical delivery in Hong Kong. Trading hours are between 0800 and 2300 Hong Kong Time, overlapping commodity markets in Europe and the US. In the pipeline are standardized products that will either be physically or financially settled, covering precious and base metals, energy and agriculture products, and commodity indices. HKMEx has attracted shareholders from around the globe, including China's ICBC and COSCO Group as well as Russia's En+ Group, among others. Cinnober provides high-transaction trading, surveillance and clearing-related systems to a number of leading venues, including Alpha Trading Systems, Burgundy, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Deutsche Börse, the London Metal Exchange, Markit BOAT and NYSE Liffe. For further information, please contact: Nils-Robert Persson Jan Arpi Executive Chairman, CEO, Cinnober Financial Technology AB Cinnober Financial Technology AB nils-robert.persson@cinnober.com jan.arpi@cinnober.com Tel. +46 (0)70 552 52 28 Tel. +46 (0)70 860 46 49 Aubrey Ho Raymond Ma Director of Corporate Communications, Corporate Communications Manager, Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange aubrey.ho@hkmerc.com raymond.ma@hkmerc.com Tel. +852 3420 9060 Tel. +852 3420 9022 About the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx) The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange provides a seamless, state-of-the-art electronic platform for commodities trading in the Asia-Pacific time zone, riding on Hong Kong's world-class financial infrastructure, geographical proximity to China, and unique role as China's offshore renminbi centre. HKMEx is authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission to operate as an automated trading services provider.  HKMEx trades are cleared and settled through HKMEx-appointed clearing house LCH.Clearnet in London.  Trading activity on the HKMEx trading platform is not covered by the Investor Compensation Fund. For more about HKMEx, visit www.hkmerc.com. About Cinnober Financial Technology AB Cinnober provides mission-critical solutions and services to leading trading and clearing venues. The Swedish-based company's solutions are based on the TRADExpress(TM) Platform incorporating everything needed for mission-critical solutions in terms of performance, robustness and flexibility. The portfolio of offerings includes price discovery and matching, real-time risk management, clearing and settlement, data distribution and surveillance. Cinnober's customers include: Alpha Trading Systems, Borsa Italiana, Burgundy, Chicago Board Options Exchange, Deutsche Börse, EDX London, Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, London Metal Exchange, Markit BOAT, NYSE Liffe and Quadriserv. For additional information, please visit www.cinnober.com. This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Cinnober via Thomson Reuters ONE [HUG#1516999]