The early years and expansion in APAC

As Eurex celebrates 15 years of presence in Singapore, we are also looking ahead to a new phase of growth in the APAC region. In this article, Mathieu Fuhrmann, Head of APAC Sales, reflects on Eurex’s development in the region over the past 15 years, outlines its expansion plans for the years ahead and shares his perspective on the firm’s broader strategic direction in the region.

Mathieu, what does the 15-year anniversary of Eurex’s APAC activities represent for the firm?

Reaching the 15-year mark is a significant milestone for the exchange. It is a chance to celebrate Eurex’ longstanding presence in the Asian financial community and to recognize the important role Singapore has played in that journey.

Singapore is our regional headquarters in Asia. What began as a representative office became a branch in 2011. Today, it serves as the hub for many of our regional sales activities, as well as key support, market, risk, and account management functions.

Across APAC, we have established offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan, with additional presence through consultants and staff in markets such as Australia and India. But Singapore remains central to that network.

What were the original drivers behind Eurex establishing a presence in Asia?

The original driver was to promote European investment opportunities to Asian market participants. There has always been strong buy-side demand in Asia for diversification. Historically, the U.S. market had greater visibility, but Europe also plays a strong role as another developed market with sophisticated trading opportunities.

That remains true today. Investing in Europe is still a key and buoyant theme in APAC. Our presence in the region has helped us build long-standing relationships with clients seeking that exposure.

Mathieu Fuhrmann

Head of APAC Sales at Eurex

How has Eurex’ APAC business evolved over the past 15-year period?

Collaboration has been central to our approach. Early on, we worked with regional exchanges, such as KRX in Korea and TAIFEX in Taiwan, to support overnight trading of flagship contracts. Those partnerships helped establish Eurex as a meaningful part of the APAC derivatives landscape.

Over time, we have also broadened our product range and built deeper client relationships. As of May 2026, Eurex has 39 active Asian direct members, demonstrating the continued growth of participation from the region. One example of this growth is our MSCI product suite. Eurex now offers products on 25 MSCI indexes that give investors APAC underlyings, including 25 futures and five options contracts. All futures are available during extended-hours trading.

Our MSCI Korea Index Futures (FMKR), launched in July 2025, have traded nearly 228,000 lots since launch, and now have open interest nearing USD 4 billion. Another key contract is the MSCI EM Asia Index Futures (FMEA), launched in 2013, which has already traded 823,000 lots YTD in 2026.

How important was the launch of extended-hours trading for Eurex’ growth in APAC?

Extending trading hours was a major milestone for us. In 2018, we expanded trading to 21 hours for key benchmark and MSCI products. Before that, Asian clients had to wait for Europe to open to access many of our contracts.

This was a key project for us. The move was essential in helping Eurex become a more global exchange in enabling clients in Asia to trade during their own business day. Since the inception of extended hours trading in Asia, more than 104.7 million lots have been traded, which highlights the region’s strong demand for around-the-clock access to European and global markets.

Without extended hours, we would never have achieved the same level of growth in our APAC MSCI franchise because many of those products are primarily traded during Asian hours.

How would you describe the liquidity profile of APAC markets today?

Trading in the region has evolved, but hedge funds have remained a constant and important part of the community. In Singapore and Hong Kong especially, there is a strong entrepreneurial spirit, with new hedge funds, desks, and pods being created all the time.

Retail participation has also grown, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Korea and Taiwan are important markets in that respect, with some activity also coming from Singapore.

A further trend is the growing sophistication of asset owners and asset managers in the region. They are increasingly looking for more complex solutions using derivatives, rather than relying solely on passive allocation.

What are Eurex’ priorities for the next phase of growth in Asia?

The first priority is to continue promoting our core European markets to Asian clients. Europe offers opportunities across equity, fixed income, credit, and swaps, and we believe Asian investors will continue to look for ways to diversify and capture performance outside the U.S.

The second priority is Asian products for Asian clients. We are exploring several opportunities, including products linked to Japan, particularly in single stocks.

The third priority is retail. Markets such as Taiwan and Korea are rich in retail participation, and we see opportunities to promote our offering more directly to those client segments.