Press Release
globalCOAL and IntercontinentalExchange to Develop New Coal Futures Contracts
LONDON AND ATLANTA, 2 April 2008 --globalCOAL ®, the leading electronic marketplace for thermal coal, and IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global derivatives exchanges and OTC markets, today announced a cooperation agreement to develop and launch two new coal futures contracts at ICE Futures EuropeTM.
The contracts will consist of financially settled NEWC ® coal futures, to be launched mid-2008, and physically settled ARA coal futures, to be launched later in the year
"Expanding further into the coal market is a natural extension of our global energy complex," said David Peniket, President of ICE Futures Europe. "We believe that the development of traded futures contracts will help to build liquidity and transparency in the coal marketplace, and provide producers and consumers with new tools for managing their price risk."
"globalCOAL has a unique position in the coal market, with deep knowledge of the industry and its requirements, and a proven track-record in building the over-the-counter market. We are delighted to be working with them," Peniket said.
"The development of futures is the next stage in the commoditisation of the coal market and will provide tremendous opportunity for investors and pure financial players as well as physical coal market participants," said Eoghan Cunningham, globalCOAL Chief Executive Officer. "Market feedback from traders across this spectrum strongly indicates that a futures contract settled against globalCOAL's NEWC Index® will be successful in capturing liquidity."
ICE Futures Europe plans to launch financially-settled futures contracts based on the globalCOAL NEWC Index in the third quarter of 2008. The globalCOAL NEWC Index is based on bids, offers and trades on the globalCOAL trading platform with delivery in Newcastle, Australia, which is the leading reference point for over-the-counter trading in Asian coal markets. ICE and globalCOAL will also work with the market to develop a physically-delivered coal futures contract with delivery points in the Antwerp Rotterdam Amsterdam (ARA) region, which is the main European hub for oil and coal trading. The new contracts will be complementary to the existing financially-settled coal futures contract currently listed by ICE Futures Europe, API2 and API4, as published in Argus/McCloskey's Coal Price Index Report.
About IntercontinentalExchange
IntercontinentalExchange® (NYSE: ICE) is a leading operator of global exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets. ICE offers futures and OTC markets on a single trading platform, including markets for crude oil and refined products, natural gas, power and emissions, as well as agricultural commodities and financial products such as canola, cocoa, coffee, cotton, ethanol, orange juice, wood pulp, sugar, foreign currency and equity index futures and options. ICE® conducts its energy futures markets, including the leading oil benchmark contracts, through its London-based exchange, ICE Futures EuropeTM. ICE conducts its global agricultural commodity, foreign exchange and equity index futures markets through its U.S. and Canadian exchanges, ICE Futures U.S.TM and ICE Futures CanadaTM, and offers clearing services through ICE Clear U.S.TM and ICE Clear CanadaTM. ICE's state-of-the-art electronic trading platform serves market participants in more than 55 countries. ICE is included in the Russell 1000® Index and the S&P 500 Index. Headquartered in Atlanta, ICE has offices in Calgary, Chicago, Houston, London, New York, Singapore and Winnipeg. For more information, please visit www.theice.com
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - Statements in this press release regarding IntercontinentalExchange's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, as filed with the SEC on February 13, 2008.
SOURCE IntercontinentalExchange and Global Coal Ltd
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