Argentina's exchange set for derivatives launch

Argentina’s top exchange has said it will start derivatives trading on Friday July 27, in what has been described as a key development for the country’s financial market.

Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos (BYMA), Argentina's national bourse, said in a statement late on Thursday it had been given the green light by regulators to launch its derivatives platform on Friday.

It follows a deal signed in April with Brazilian exchange and clearing giant B3, which owns a stake in BYMA and is supplying trading technology to the Buenos Aires-based group.

Index futures contracts on Merval, Argentina’s main index, will be the first instruments traded with a September expiry date.

"The local derivatives market has great potential,” said Ernesto Allaria, BYMA’s chief executive, in a statement.

He said the opportunity is “closely related to the support from B3", given the group’s experience in trading futures contracts.

BYMA came to life as a result of Argentina's capital markets bill in 2017.

The group now houses the merged stock exchanges of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, and Bahía Blanca.

BYMA dominates Argentina’s equities trading business and the custody of securities, and acts as Argentina's central clearing house.

Earlier in 2018, the group worked to improve the operational deficits highlighted by MSCI.

The index provider promoted Argentina flagship emerging markets indices in June.

Introducing short selling and stock lending were among a series of upgrades made by the bourse.

As well as partnering with B3, BYMA recently implemented Millennium Exchange, the same equities trading platform used by the LSE Group.