A new commodities exchange, the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, is being established to serve the international, and domestic Asian, trading community.

The HKMEx aims to provide an efficient and transparent pricing platform for end-users and the global trading community to trade tailor-made contracts, hedge pricing risks in China and across the region, lower transactions costs and increase participation by Chinese commodities traders.

The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. announced that it has been selected as technology provider for the new commodity exchange. The exchange, which is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2009, will deploy a trading system from Nasdaq OMX tailored specifically for the commodity marketplace.

“We are delighted to have Nasdaq OMX develop the HKMEx trading platform,” said Barry Cheung, chairman of HKMEx. “In order to create and handle high liquidity and trading volumes on our exchange, we need to operate on a secure and scalable high-end platform. Our selection of Nasdaq OMX was based on their proven technology as well as their long and successful experience in both the commodity and Aspac markets.”

“This is a very exciting project for us, and we look forward to supporting Hong Kong and HKMEx in its ambitions to grow and develop the Chinese commodities market,” said Markus Gerdien, executive vice president market technology at Nasdaq OMX. “The platform that we are delivering will put HKMEx in a prime position to create a fluid and efficient commodities market. It will also enable HKMEx to easily introduce new products as they expand their offering.”