Page 12 - Taiwan Futures Exchange 2019 Annual Report

8 In the area of institutional business promotions, TAIFEX partnered with the Life Insurance Association of the ROC and investment trust companies to hold forums in August and October on how insurers can use derivatives to hedge, and on new products and strategies. We also arranged a seminar in December on how listed companies can use derivatives to hedge. More than 460 persons from insurers, investment trust companies, and listed companies attended these events. TAIFEX also had institutional visits, institutional training classes, coordination with FCMs on promotional events, and the Fifth Annual Diamond Awards to encourage institutions to join the futures market. Over the last three years, 302 new institutional investors, including major banks, have participated in our market. In 2019 the institutional share of the average daily volume in FX, foreign-equity-index, and commodities products grew by 148%, 71%, and 81%, respectively, from 2018's levels. In addition, TAIFEX continued to incentivize market makers, FCMs and institutional investors through a variety of promotions, and to provide sponsorships to encourage FCMs and introducing brokers (IBs) to develop their own promotional activities. We also kept abreast of industry views by arranging two meetings with the managing directors of FCMs. These gatherings always involved a broad exchange of perspectives on our operations and rules, and are given serious consideration when planning the further development of our market. In the area of market promotions, TAIFEX organized 32 educational seminars across Taiwan. Attended by nearly 1,900 people, these seminars addressed: the introduction of Nasdaq-100 Futures, TPEx 200 Futures; the application of the Dynamic Price Banding Mechanism to TAIEX Options and foreign equity index futures; the extension of block trading to gold products; amendments to rules on block-trading rules and on market orders with protection; improvements on the exposure coverage for all products; liquidity disclosures for all products; adjustments to how margins are calculated for combination positions involving short calls and puts; and changes to the setting of final settlement prices for domestic equity index futures and equity futures. We also produced educational webpages, posters, pamphlets, and online summaries, and published articles and advertisements in the print media, to make a broad array of information readily available. In the area of media campaigns, TAIFEX continued to publish columns addressing the latest developments in the futures market in Taiwan's major financial dailies and to disseminate market data and updates on TV. We also partnered with the media to organize large-scale forums and worked with the media to invite internet celebrities to make videos on the risks associated with options trading.