Eurex outlines risks and opportunities for Asian derivatives markets
8th April, 2026|Karry Lai
From the rates market to strategic asset allocation, Mathieu Fuhrmann, head of sales APAC at Eurex, outlines key drivers for the region.
Ahead of the Eurex's Derivatives Insights Asia conference on April 14 in Singapore, FOW spoke with Mathieu Fuhrmann, head of sales APAC at Eurex, about the key themes and highlights of the event.
The event will kick off with a keynote from Bettina Fanghänel, ambassador at the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Singapore. This will be followed by a panel on Europe's futures in a fragmenting world where Fanghänel and panellists will discuss key risks that Asian regional economies have gone through and what can be expected going forward.
"An important topic for this panel will be how the US-Iran war has triggered volatility and how long will this risk need to be priced for," said Fuhrmann. "The panel will be looking at what the implications of a prolonged war will be on market performance, which asset class will be more prone to risk and how to ensure that portfolios are diversified so that they are less risk-prone."
For instance, coupled with a weak currency, Japan's growth outlook and its equities market may continue to suffer. Furthermore, the rates war has been dynamic as central banks around the world balance growth considerations as high inflation fuelled by rising oil prices wreaks havoc on economies.
"The advantage that Europe has is that it still has choice around the US situation," said Fuhrmann. "Standing in the middle ground in both the US-Iran war and the Trump tariff war, Europe has a trust advantage in Asia and we're seeing more visits from European diplomats to Japan and China. Increased volatility will only strengthen these diplomatic relationships."
Most European equity benchmarks are therefore looking heavily discounted at these levels – even considering their intrinsic nature of being value stocks, noted Fuhrmann.
The banking sector, which has been under pressure since January, could potentially benefit from this environment.
The conference will also see panellists discussing strategic asset allocation in multi- asset portfolios and how portfolio managers are deciding on how much weight to allocate between fixed income, credit, foreign currency, equities and crypto in portfolio structuring.
With exchange traded funds (ETFs) being a big theme across APAC, spurred by government policies across Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, passive investment has been a major driving force in the region but the second phase will be more active and involve more derivatives driven strategies.
"Reflecting on the success, Mirae Asset Global Investment and Blackrock will be sharing their stories on covered call strategies," said Fuhrmann. "But this is only the first step in a wave of ETF interest. I'm convinced that further development is to come. In particular, we can expect a migration from this simple and approachable product to buffer and more complex types of ETFs that involve more active management and directional exposure."
This will be followed by a panel on the energy market where Eurex's sister company European Energy Exchange (EEX) will share its success story in the Japanese power derivatives market as well as its expansion plans into more products within Japan and across other regions in Asia.
Rates and inflation as well as how they are influencing fixed income products such as government bond futures will be another key theme.
"Panellists on the rates panel will look at key developments in central bank paths, from Japan to Australia, as well as Singapore, Hong Kong and southeast Asia countries, and the impact the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank policies have on the region," said Fuhrmann.
The event will close with an engaging panel on digital innovation where panellists from both traditional finance and crypto natives will discuss the future of trading, custody, tokenisation and derivatives.
With one week to go before the event, more than 200 participants have signed up for Eurex's Derivatives Insights Asia conference including 30% from the buyside. Find out more and register for the event here.
