SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - The Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Wednesday (July 1) said it is introducing a futures contract on the FTSE Taiwan RIC Capped Index (FTSE Taiwan), enabling investors to gain exposure to a broad representation of large and mid-cap Taiwan stocks.

The SGX FTSE Taiwan Index futures contract will be launched on July 20. SGX expects to receive certification from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the offer and sale of the contract in the US shortly after launch, thus ensuring distribution to institutional investors, the Singapore bourse said.

Michael Syn, head of equities at SGX, said international investors own some 40 per cent of Taiwan's equities, making its market an important part of any Asian investment portfolio. He added: "We are glad to work with FTSE and our partners to meet the rising demand of US and European investors for access and investment exposure to Taiwan, with consistent diversification to manage risk."

According to SGX, the Taiwan economy is the seventh largest in Asia and occupies a key position in the global industrial and technology value chain.

The FTSE Taiwan index covers nearly 80 per cent of Taiwan's listed companies by market capitalisation, and offers strong correlation with other major Taiwan benchmark indexes, the Singapore bourse said.

It added that the futures contract will provide global investors with an "effective and cost-efficient way" to invest in the Taiwan stock market across Asian, European and US time zones.

As at 9.21am on Wednesday, shares in SGX were trading at $8.30, down $0.04 or 0.5 per cent.