Eurex Zürich is to become a minority shareholder in the Taiwanese futures exchange TAIFEX.

Eurex will acquire a 5-percent stake in the company from Yuanta Financial Holdings. The move is subject to regulatory approval by the Taiwanese authorities. The agreed purchase price is $47m.

Yuanta Group will remain a shareholder in TAIFEX after the planned sale of the 5-percent stake.

“With this acquisition we are strengthening our strategic partnership with TAIFEX. Jointly, we want to contribute to the internationalization of the Taiwanese financial market. For us, this step is a further milestone in implementing Deutsche Börse Group’s Asia strategy. TAIFEX is excellently positioned, especially in Greater China, for the future internationalization of the derivatives markets,” explained Andreas Preuss, Eurex CEO and Deputy CEO of Deutsche Börse AG.

From May 2014, Eurex and TAIFEX are planning to list daily futures based on futures and options on the Taiwanese blue-chip index TAIEX for the first time after Taiwanese trading hours at Eurex Exchange. This has already been approved by the Taiwanese regulator, the Financial Supervisory Commission. Both partners are also holding very constructive talks on further joint projects.