The bourse is adding 13 Asia ex-Japan and emerging markets Asia regional and single country futures to its shelf of benchmark equity derivatives.

The new futures are based on Net Total Return (NTR) and Price Return indices calculated by FTSE Russell, which has approximately $16 trillion in reported fund assets under management (AUM) tracking its benchmarks.

SGX said the new futures benchmarks, which cover Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, addresses customers' «increasing demand for institutional-grade exchange solutions in Asia which offer superior operational and capital efficiency.»

The new contracts are expected to be certified by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), enabling US investors to trade them directly from within the U.S.

Asian Derivatives Hub

SGX currently has the largest and most liquid FTSE and MSCI equity index derivatives for Asian markets.

Michael Syn, head of equities at SGX, said its collaboration with FTSE Russell is the «next step in further developing and advancing SGX’s Asia-access waterfront.»

«We look forward to bringing investors even more asset-class opportunities within the pan-Asian capital structure, based on broad strategies, sectors and themes,» Syn said.